Scots actor and Outlander star Sam Heughan has hit out at the US president as he continually fails to explicitly condemn white supremacist groups following the deadly unrest in Virginia.
During a turbulent press conference at his Manhattan residence on Tuesday, Donald Trump riled many - including Heughan - when he acknowledged there were “some very bad people” among the statue protesters.
Mr Trump has been accused of defending white supremacists as he then went on to add: “You also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.”
An angry Heughan took to his Twitter page to tell his 354,000 followers: “Oh COME ON, seriously???!!!”
Oh COME ON, seriously???!!! #POTUS
— Sam Heughan (@SamHeughan) August 15, 2017
He also added the hashtag “#POTUS,” an acronym for “President of the United States.”
The 37-year-old TV and soon-to-be movie star, originally from Balmaclellan in Dumfries and Galloway, also then shared an article which reported on Mr Trump’s controversial comments.
Sharing it, he said: “I wont say any more.”
I wont say any more https://t.co/VbaLlFpS9V
— Sam Heughan (@SamHeughan) August 15, 2017
Many fans of the actor chipped in to lend their support as they, too, hit out at the president.
“You couldn’t write this as a TV show it’s unbelievable,” said one, as another added, “It is beyond belief.”
Another follower said: “Can’t they just lock him in his closet and take his phone away. A permanent time out. I’m ready to move to Scotland, myself.”
Mr Trump has today come under fire from a British Cabinet minister and a junior colleague for not singling out the groups for criticism.
READ MORE: Sam Heughan hits back at fan who says actors should ‘stay away from politics’
Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said it is “pretty obvious” that neo-Nazis are “bad” while anti-Nazis are “good” after Mr Trump did not condemn far-right demonstrators outright for violence that left a woman dead.
Violence erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday after a group of far-right extremists gathered to protest a decision to remove a statue of a Confederate general.
Heather Heyer, 32, later died when a car was driven into crowds as anti-fascist demonstrators clashed with the white supremacists.
Mr Trump faced heavy criticism in the immediate wake of the unrest after he said there was blame on “many sides.”
He took two days to condemn the actions of the far-right groups in particular, eventually branding the KKK, neo-Nazis, and white supremacists as “repugnant to everything that we hold dear as Americans” in a statement on Monday.
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