Tillerson on Trump’s values: The president ‘speaks for himself’

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday that President Trump “speaks for himself” when he was asked about the president’s values and response to the racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Va. 

“I don’t believe anyone doubts the American people’s values or the commitment of the government or the government’s agencies to advancing those values and defending those values,” Tillerson told Chris Wallace on “Fox New Sunday,” adding, “The president speaks for himself.”

{mosads}The secretary of State was responding to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which recently criticized Trump’s response to a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville. 

“We express America’s values from the State Department. We represent the American people. We represent America’s values, our commitment to freedom, our commitment to the equal treatment of people in the world,” Tillerson said when asked about whether it was difficult to push American values.

“And that message has never changed,” he added.  

Trump sparked controversy when he said earlier this month that the violence at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville was caused by “many sides.”

The president defended his comments during a campaign-style rally in Phoenix on Tuesday.