UPDATE 11:02 a.m. -- Gov. Scott Walker says all white supremacists groups need to be "unilaterally dismissed and denounced."
Walker made the comment Wednesday following a round table event in Green Bay. He was asked for reaction to President Donald Trump's comments on Tuesday where he reiterated that "both sides" were to blame for violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville that left a counter-protester dead after a car rammed into the crowd.
Walker says he's made it "implicitly clear" that he denounces all hate. He says, "I think any of the white supremacists groups or other groups just need to be unilaterally dismissed and denounced."
Also on Wednesday Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said he did not think Trump was a racist or should be impeached from office, but he was uncomfortable with his comments.
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ORIGINAL STORY:
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Wisconsin's top Republicans have been largely silent on President Donald Trump's defiant blaming of "both sides" for the weekend violence between white supremacists and counter-demonstrators in Virginia.
But at least one Democrat is calling for Trump to be removed from office.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore made the call Tuesday, just hours after Trump reiterated that "both sides" were at fault in the Charlottesville violence and voiced support for those trying to maintain the monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
"My Republican friends, I implore you to work with us within our capacity as elected officials to remove this man as our commander in chief and help us move forward from this dark period in our nation's history," said Moore, Wisconsin's only African American representative in Congress.
The state's top Republicans have largely avoided speaking directly about Trump's comments.
Trump ally Republican Gov. Scott Walker hasn't said anything publicly since a Saturday tweet that "we should all condemn the violence and hate" at the protest. Democratic state Rep. Jimmy Anderson, of Fitchburg, noted on Wednesday that Walker had tweeted six times about other issues since Trump's press conference Tuesday afternoon.
"Odd that he doesn't seem troubled by (at)POTUS's comments," Anderson said.
Walker's spokesman Tom Evenson did not immediately return a message seeking comment Wednesday.
House Speaker Paul Ryan tweeted Tuesday after the Trump news conference that "white supremacy is repulsive" but did not specifically address the president's comments.
U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, speaking to reporters on Tuesday shortly before Trump for a second time blamed "both sides" for the violence, said the president deserves to be cut a break.
Johnson said public officials don't always know "the perfect thing to say" and that he gives them "a bit of slack in terms of not necessarily saying the perfect thing."
Republican state Rep. Adam Jarchow, of Clear Lake, set off a heated exchange on Twitter when he said that "As a reminder, (at)GOP is the party that ended slavery and led the civil rights fight. Dems on wrong side of both."
When questioned to explain if he was saying Trump was on the right side of the issue now, Jarchow tweeted: "Every single member of the (at)GOP I know deplores racism and denounces it. It's disgusting and wrong. That's the GOP I know."
Even conservative Wisconsin talk radio host Jerry Bader denounced Trump in response to Jarchow, saying the president's words are "vile, repugnant and clearly illustrate he is not fit to hold the office of president."
