Mitch McConnell: 'We all have a responsibility to stand against hate and violence' 
 
 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in Bowling Green, Ky. (Photo: Austin Anthony, AP) 
 
 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups that are reportedly planning a rally in Kentucky are not welcome there and "should not be welcome anywhere in America." 
 
 "The white supremacist, KKK, and neo-Nazi groups who brought hatred and violence to Charlottesville are now planning a rally in Lexington," the Republican senator from Kentucky said in a statement. "Their messages of hate and bigotry are not welcome in Kentucky and should not be welcome anywhere in America." 
 
 McConnell did not mention President Trump by name, but he said there "are no good neo-Nazis" and that everyone has "a responsibility to stand against hate and violence." 
 
 Trump drew strong criticism from senators and House members in his own party Tuesday when he doubled down on his controversial statements that "both sides" were responsible for the violence in Charlottesville, Va., on Saturday that resulted in a woman's death. The woman, Heather Heyer, was protesting a rally by white supremacists and members of the KKK and neo-Nazi groups when she was killed by a man who plowed his car into people protesting the hate groups. 
 
 Trump said Tuesday that there were "very fine people on both sides." 
 
 McConnell, who has been the target of scathing criticism from the president in the wake of the Senate's recent failure to repeal Obamacare, said "we can have no tolerance for an ideology of racial hatred." 
 
 "There are no good neo-Nazis, and those who espouse their views are not supporters of American ideals and freedoms," McConnell said. "We all have a responsibility to stand against hate and violence, wherever it raises its evil head." 
 
 McConnell also spoke out Saturday against the "hate and bigotry" in Charlottesville. White supremacist leaders have said they are considering coming to Lexington, Ky. to protest the proposed removal of two Confederate statues from a public park there. 
 
 Fact check: President Trump's press conference, in context 
 
 Analysis: Combative Trump returns to form with defense of alt-right 
 
 Reaction: Lawmakers slam Trump's latest defense of Charlottesville response 
 
 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2x4hAYI ||||| Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellDem lawmaker resurfaces 2013 Trump tweet criticizing Obama for Syrian airstrikes Schumer says Trump strikes 'appropriate,' warns against greater involvement in Syria Trump authorizes military strikes in Syria MORE (R-Ky.) pushed back Wednesday on President Trump's latest comments about the violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., saying there "are no good neo-Nazis." 
 
 “We can have no tolerance for an ideology of racial hatred. There are no good neo-Nazis, and those who espouse their views are not supporters of American ideals and freedoms," the Senate GOP leader said. 
 
 He added that "we all have a responsibility to stand against hate and violence, wherever it raises its evil head.” 
 
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 McConnell's comments come after the president blamed both the "alt-left" as well as white supremacists and neo-Nazis for the violence in Charlottesville over the weekend, adding that there were "very fine people" on both sides. 
 
 “I have condemned neo-Nazis. I have condemned many different groups, but not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. ... Not all of those people were white supremacists, by any stretch. Those people were also there because they wanted to protest taking down of a statue, Robert E. Lee," Trump said. 
 
 Several GOP lawmakers slammed Trump over his comments, which came after he had been under criticism for failing to immediately condemn racist protesters, including neo-Nazi groups and the KKK, by name, a step he took at a Monday press conference. 
 
 A 32-year-old woman, Heather Heyer, was killed on Saturday in Charlottesville after being hit by a car allegedly driven by a man with far-right views who plowed into a crowd of counterprotesters. Her death came amid rallies aimed to "Unite the Right." 
 
 White nationalist groups are now planning a rally in Lexington, Ky., over the removal of two Confederate statues, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. 
 
 McConnell added on Wednesday that the groups "are not welcome" in Kentucky or in America. 
 
 “The white supremacist, KKK, and neo-Nazi groups who brought hatred and violence to Charlottesville are now planning a rally in Lexington. Their messages of hate and bigotry are not welcome in Kentucky and should not be welcome anywhere in America," he said. ||||| Story highlights Mitch McConnell also is taking a cautious approach to the President 
 
 The Senate majority leader will need to work with Trump soon to avoid a fiscal crisis 
 
 (CNN) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has publicly avoided criticizing President Donald Trump's remarks on Charlottesville, is privately upset with the President's handling of the episode, according to a source close to the Kentucky Republican. 
 
 Despite the immediate uproar that Trump caused by his stunning comments Tuesday where he defended some of the protestors during a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, McConnell remained silent and out of public view. 
 
 But McConnell, who has a long history of working on civil rights issues, is deeply concerned that Trump is reopening long-festering racial tensions, something that could fan the flames ahead of demonstrations expected in Lexington, Kentucky, the source told CNN. 
 
 The morning after Trump's comments, McConnell released a statement Wednesday ahead of a rally in Lexington similar to the one that turned violent in Charlottesville over the weekend. 
 
 "The white supremacist, KKK, and neo-nazi groups who brought hatred and violence to Charlottesville are now planning a rally in Lexington. Their messages of hate and bigotry are not welcome in Kentucky and should not be welcome anywhere in America," McConnell said in his statement. ||||| GOP Senator: Trump Lacking 'Stability,' 'Competence' To Succeed 
 
 Updated at 4:30 p.m. ET 
 
 A leading Republican senator told reporters on Thursday that President Trump "has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability, nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful." 
 
 Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker was at the Rotary Club of Chattanooga and spoke to local reporters there. In video posted by Chloe Morrison of Nooga.com, Corker added, "And we need for him to be successful. Our nation needs for him to be successful." 
 
 Referring to the president's response to the violence that came with white supremacist demonstrations in Charlottesville, Va., last weekend, Corker said, "He also recently has not demonstrated that he understands the character of this nation. He has not demonstrated that he understands what has made this nation great and what it is today." 
 
 Corker also warned that without that, "our nation is going to go through great peril" and called for "radical change" at the White House. 
 
 Trump said at an impromptu news conference on Tuesday at Trump Tower in New York City that there was blame on "both sides" for the violence in Charlottesville between white supremacists and counterprotesters and that there were "very fine people" on both sides, including some who the president said were just there to peacefully object to the removal of a Confederate statue. 
 
 Those statements came after Trump's initial response in the hours after clashes resulted in the death of Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old woman killed when a car slammed into a group of demonstrators on Saturday. In those first comments, Trump said, "We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence," but then added, "on many sides." 
 
 He was roundly criticized for not focusing his condemnation on the white supremacists, nor calling out such hate groups by name. He changed course in remarks at the White House on Monday, where he said, "Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans." 
 
 Trump on Tuesday reverted to his tone from Saturday, which critics say created a moral equivalence between neo-Nazis and those marching against them, in his remarks at Trump Tower. That invited a new and more intense backlash. Trump was also praised by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke. Trump has continued to blast the media over coverage of his remarks, tweeting on Thursday, "They totally misrepresent what I say about hate, bigotry etc." 
 
 An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll conducted this week showed that a majority of Americans believe the president's response to the violence in Charlottesville has not been strong enough. 
 
 Corker is a respected GOP voice on Capitol Hill, serving as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was said to be on the shortlist of possible running mates for Trump in 2016 before Trump chose Mike Pence, who was then the governor of Indiana. 
 
 Corker appeared to be selecting his words carefully as he spoke to local press at the event in Chattanooga. He joins a handful of GOP senators — including Marco Rubio of Florida, John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — who have called Trump out by name. 
 
 Republican leaders including House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have put out statements criticizing the conduct the president has exhibited without mentioning his name. 
 
 In a statement on Wednesday, McConnell said in part, "There are no good neo-nazis, and those who espouse their views are not supporters of American ideals and freedoms. We all have a responsibility to stand against hate and violence, wherever it raises its evil head." 
 
 Corker also said that the president needs to reflect on his role in the country and "move beyond himself, move way beyond himself, and move to a place where daily he's waking up thinking about what's best for our nation." 
 
 Trump tweeted support Thursday morning for Kelli Ward, an Arizona doctor and former state senator, who has announced a primary challenge to Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a frequent critic of the president. 
 
 Flake has strong support from his fellow Republican senators, and Corker said, "The White House would be well-served to embrace the character, the substance of someone like Sen. Flake." 
 
 Corker was also asked about a controversy over a Confederate monument in his state. A bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest, an early KKK leader who served as a Confederate general, sits in the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville. Demonstrators have been pushing state lawmakers and Republican Gov. Bill Haslam to remove it. 
 
 "We want to keep our history. We don't want to wash away our history, but let's put it in a museum," Corker said. "And let's have the type of people at public buildings where we go to discuss aspiration things, let's have aspirational figures. Let's have people there who have brought out the best in our nation." 
 
 Trump sent out a series of tweets on Thursday decrying efforts to remove Confederate statues and monuments.
– "There are no good neo-Nazis," Sen. Mitch McConnell said Wednesday. “We can have no tolerance for an ideology of racial hatred," the Hill quotes the Senate majority leader as saying. "Those who espouse their views are not supporters of American ideals and freedoms." McConnell went on to say that all Americans "have a responsibility to stand against hate and violence, wherever it raises its evil head" and made it clear that the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and KKK members behind the violence in Charlottesville are not welcome in his state of Kentucky or America. The groups behind the Unite the Right rally last weekend in Virginia had been planning an event in Lexington. USA Today notes McConnell failed to mention President Trump by name in his apparent condemnation of the president's comments on Charlottesville. It's possible McConnell—whose wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, was standing next to Trump during the president's Tuesday press conference—was attempting to avoid antagonizing Trump supporters, according to the Los Angeles Times. But a source close to McConnell tells CNN the senator—while privately upset about Trump's comments—didn't want to directly criticize the president because it might look like payback for Trump blasting him last week on the failure of health care. McConnell also still needs to work with Trump next month on a deal to fund the government.