Donald Trump’s statements following the recent demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, make clear, once again, that he is a supporter of racist, anti-semitic hate groups that masquerade under the name “alt-right.”

Three former and current high-ranking members of Trump’s administration — Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Sebastian Gorka — have a long history of support for white nationalism. Nicole Hemmer, a University of Virginia professor and author of “Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics,” has said that the “biographies and rhetoric” of these individuals “signal to white nationalists that they have friends in the White House.”

Trump’s statements about the events in Charlottesville were greeted with enthusiastic applause by former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, white supremacist leader Richard Spencer and the online neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer.

Some Republicans in Congress have criticized Trump’s Charlottesville remarks, but many have not. Those who did criticize the remarks often avoided criticizing the president directly.

For example, Congressman Fred Upton said this about Trump’s statement that there were some “very fine people” who participated in the White Supremacist demonstration: “Let me be clear: There are no ‘very fine’ white supremacists. I join with many others in denouncing this sort of unacceptable racism and bigotry and condemning white supremacy, neo-Nazi, and KKK groups — particularly the ones whose actions led to tragic violence in Charlottesville.”

This statement is clearly critical of Trump’s remarks, but it makes no mention of him or his administration.

It is way past time for Fred Upton and his fellow Republicans in Congress to denounce Donald Trump and his administration for their support of white nationalism. It is way past time for them to demand the resignations of Miller and Gorka.

It is also way past time for them to begin laying a foundation for impeachment proceedings against President Trump, who is a dishonest, incompetent, and dangerous supporter of bigotry and hate.

Larry Feldman

Lakeside