[John Berman, Cnn Anchor:] Early this morning, crews in Maryland removed a controversial statue, this time the statue of Supreme Court Chief Justice Chief Justice of the United States, Roger Taney, who defended slavery. The move came just hours after President Trump defended statues with links to the confederacy calling them beautiful, saying that the removal rips apart American history and culture. That is not how Florida Congressman Ted Deutch sees it. He wrote, this was never about the statues and the president knows it. And this is what the congressman has said about the Charlottesville protests. Will POTUS look into the eyes of a Holocaust survivor and tell her that even one Nazi swastika flag is OK? Congressman Ted Deutch joins us right now. Congressman, thank you so much for being with us. This was never about statues. What do you mean?
[Rep. Ted Deutch , Foreign Affairs, Judiciary And Ethics Committees:] Well, the president knows this was never about statues. Anyone who watched what happened in Charlottesville last weekend knows that what it was about was hatred, racism, bigotry and anti-Semitism. And for anyone who thought otherwise, including the president of the United States, to look at the video of people shouting racial epithets, chanting about Jews, carrying torches and harkening back to a time in this country that we have moved past, they didn't see we don't see fine people. Only the president saw fine people there. That's why it's time for the United States Congress to hold the president accountable.
[Berman:] How?
[Deutch:] Well, we've seen just over the past few days we've seen building pressure, part of it because others outside of Congress have stepped up. The CEOs who walked away from the advisory councils, those in who had been supporters of the president who have criticized him for the outrageous response to what happened in Charlottesville. Because of that, we've seen some Republican colleagues of mine tweet about their displeasure, even going so far as to perhaps condemn, call into question the moral authority, the president's moral authority.
[Berman:] Well, congressman, you're saying you're saying
[Deutch:] Yes, but
[I -- Berman:] You're saying hold him accountable. There are some Democrats who want to pass some kind of a censure measure in Congress. Is that something you support?
[Deutch:] I do. That's exactly what needs to happen. The point I was getting to, John, is that tweets don't make a historical record. This is as important moment in the history of the United States. When the president look at Nazis and Klu Klux Klan and white supremacists and sees fine people and says all sides are to blame. So we shouldn't rely on tweets. When we go back to Washington, the United States House and the United States Senate should have an opportunity to vote on a censure resolution to hold the president accountable so that our grandchildren and great grandchildren will know that at a moment in history, when the president saw something different than the overwhelming majority of us in the United States, that the Congress, on behalf of the American people, stood up and said, that is wrong, that is unacceptable.
[Berman:] And, congressman, do you think that is of a higher priority now? Would you like to see Congress act on that before something that other members of Congress have called for, which is the removal of any confederate statues from the Capitol?
[Deutch:] Well, as I as I said, I don't I don't think this is about statues. Of course those confederate statues should be removed. But it's because of what they represent, which is what the march in Charlottesville represents, which is hatred and bigotry and anti- Semitism. John, my father earned a Purple Heart when the Nazis put shrapnel into his head in the Battle of the Bulge. How it is that anyone can look at what happened and say that there were fine people marching with nose Nazis is beyond me. And, yes, Congress this is not complicated, John. This is a moment for Democrats and Republicans to come together to make an historical record that the United States Congress and the people we represent are appalled, appalled and disgusted when the president of the United States looks at what happens and tries to provide cover for the anti- Semites and the racists who were marching in Charlottesville.
[Berman:] They were chancing Jew will not replace us. I do want to ask you about a Missouri Democratic senator, Senator Maria Chappelle Nadal, who wrote, I hope Trump is assassinated. Here are some people who now by the way, she ultimately removed that tweet. There are some people who say that this state senator should step down, should resign. How do you see it?
[Deutch:] I it's the first I've heard of it. It's awful. I mean, look, we have we have great disagreements with the president. I've made that clear with today and with you before. But we should never no one should ever call for violence, not against the president, not against anyone. And that's again, that's why what's what happened in Charlottesville and the discussions that we're having right now are so important because we have to stand up to those purveyors of hate, and the racists, the anti-Semites, the white supremacists who marched down the street. We all looked at that and were disgusted. Everyone should be disgusted. Congress needs to go on record making that clear for the American people.
[Berman:] Should anyone who ever holds office say something like that, congressman?
[Deutch:] No one who holds office should ever talk like that. Of course not.
[Berman:] All right, Representative Ted Deutch of Florida, thank you so much for your time today. A wonderful story about your father, as well. Obviously we honor him now and forever. All right, the president lashing out, Republicans digging in. Mitt Romney now with a stunning new statement directly condemning the president's words. How will the party recover?