This weekend's racist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia led to the death of Heather Heyer, a paralegal who was run over by a car while protesting against white nationalists. Since then, President Trump has actually said there were good people on both sides—even the side that has Nazis on it. Susan Bro, Heyer's mother, told Good Morning America that she has no interest in speaking to the president after his controversial remarks in press conferences since her daughter's death.
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She told host Robin Roberts she hadn't really watched the news until Thursday night, so when she read the president's initial statement, she thanked him. She said he reached out, but she just missed his calls at first, and then noticed she had "frantic messages" from press secretaries. She didn't know why at first, and she was so exhausted after the funeral that she thought she'd get back to him later.
But then she saw the press conference in which President Trump essentially compared her daughter's cause to the "alt-right" and white supremacists. She changed her tune after that. "I'm not talking to the president right not, I'm sorry. After what he said about my child," she said. "You can't wash this one away by shaking my hand and saying, 'I'm sorry.'"
Bro elaborated to ABC News, pointing out a harsh truth about why her daughter is getting so much attention—because of the color of her skin. "I'm honestly a little embarrassed to say that part of the reason Heather got so much attention is because she's white, and she stood up for black people," she said. "Isn't that a shame? That a white person standing up for a black person caused all this excitement? That should be an everyday thing, that should be a norm."
At the end of the day, Bro had just one message for President Trump: "Think before you speak." If only he'd listen to that advice.
Mother of Charlottesville victim Heather Heyer: "I'm not talking to the president now. I'm sorry." https://t.co/4SZZYJnMkb pic.twitter.com/iSFW9j2YTfAugust 18, 2017
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