DANVILLE, Va. – Virginia legislators, including U.S. Senator Mark Warner, are among those who have weighed on President Donald Trump's latest comments regarding the deadly rally in Charlottesville.
Wednesday afternoon, Warner toured the Save-A-Lot grocery store in Danville to talk about legislation he has introduced to help areas designated as food deserts, like Southside, have better access to healthier foods.
On Tuesday, Trump said both the white supremacists and those who protested against them in Charlottesville were in the wrong.
"I didn't think this president could still surprise me. His comments yesterday were shocking," said Warner. "How hard is it in 2017 in America to speak out against Neo-Nazis, white supremacists?"
Despite the shocking nature of the comments, Warner says they might actually be a good thing, as people both inside and outside government publicly condemn the comments.
"In some strange way, the president's outrageous comments may actually serve as a unifying factor for a whole lot of the rest of us who actually want to take on these challenges and take on this battle," Warner said.
As for the legislation Warner was in Danville to highlight, it would create more tax credits for food providers, such as grocery stores, that open up in areas designated as food deserts.
"This is commonsense legislation. I know commonsense may mean it may be hard to get through Washington, but we're going to try to get it done because this is a problem we can solve," said Warner.
Warner added that because the legislation involves tax credits, it could be part of tax reform, an issue he hopes Congress will take up this fall.