Donald Trump has defiantly blamed "both sides" for the weekend violence between white supremacists and counter-demonstrators in Virginia.
It came as he sought to rebuff widespread criticism of his handling of the emotionally-charged protests while showing sympathy for the fringe group's efforts to preserve Confederate monuments.
His remarks amounted to a rejection of the Republicans, business leaders and White House advisers who earlier this week had pushed the president to more forcefully and specifically condemn the KKK members, neo-Nazis and white supremacists who took to the streets of Charlottesville.
The angry exchange with reporters at his skyscraper hotel in New York City laid bare a reality of the Trump presidency: Trump cannot be managed by others or steered away from damaging political land mines.
His top aides were stunned by his comments, with some - including new chief of staff John Kelly - standing by helplessly as the president escalated his rhetoric.
Standing in the lobby of Trump Tower, Trump acknowledged that there were "some very bad people" among those who gathered to protest on Saturday. But he added: "You also had people that were very fine people, on both sides."
The rally was organised by white supremacists and other groups under a "Unite the Right" banner. Organisers said they were initially activated by their objections to the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee, but the larger aim was to protest what they saw as an "anti-white" climate in America.
In his remarks, Trump condemned bigoted ideology and called James Alex Fields Jr, who drove his car into a crowd of counter-protester killing a 32-year-old woman, "a disgrace to himself, his family and his country."
But Trump also expressed support for those seeking to maintain the monument to Lee, equating him with some of the nation's founders who also owned slaves.
"So, this week it's Robert E. Lee," he said. "I noticed that Stonewall Jackson's coming down. I wonder, 'is it George Washington next week and is it Thomas Jefferson the week after?' You really do have to ask yourself, where does it stop?"
He continued: "You're changing history. You're changing culture."
The president's comments effectively wiped away the more conventional statement he delivered at the White House a day earlier when he branded the white supremacists who take part in violence as "criminals and thugs."
Trump's advisers had hoped those remarks might quell criticism of his initial response, but the president's retorts Tuesday suggested he had been a reluctant participant in that cleanup effort.
Once again, the blowback was swift, including from fellow Republicans. Senator Marco Rubio said Trump should not allow white supremacists "to share only part of the blame." House Speaker Paul Ryan declared in a tweet that "white supremacy is repulsive" and there should be "no moral ambiguity," though he did not specifically address the president.
Trump's remarks were welcomed by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, who tweeted: "Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth."
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