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Tillerson Says Trump 'Speaks for Himself' on Racial Issues

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is suggesting that President Donald Trump's values should be considered separate from America's values when it comes to race.
Image: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson responds to a question from the news media during a press conference on U.S-Japanese security at the State Department in Washington, DC, Aug. 2017.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson responds to a question from the news media during a press conference on U.S-Japanese security at the State Department in Washington, DC, Aug. 2017.Shawn Thew / EPA

WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is suggesting that President Donald Trump's values should be considered separate from America's values when it comes to race.

Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Tillerson was asked to comment on Trump's seesawing response to violence at a white supremacist march in Charlottesville, Virginia, this month and the criticism that he had morally equated neo-Nazis with the individuals protesting against them.

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Tillerson replied that "we express America's values from the State Department" and that when it comes to Trump's values, "the president speaks for himself."

Tillerson said the nation's commitment to fighting racial injustice is unquestioned, and that he doesn't "believe anyone doubts the American people's values" or the government's commitment to that goal.