Gabriella Demczuk / The New York Times
Sen. Dean Heller is shown at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 3, 2014.
Monday, Aug. 14, 2017 | 2 p.m.
Sen. Dean Heller says he's glad President Donald Trump has sharpened his criticism of the white supremacists who incited violence at a rally that turned deadly in Virginia over the weekend.
The Nevada Republican told reporters in Reno today it was important for the president to more strongly denounce the racism and bigotry espoused by the white nationalists before a car plowed into a crowd in Charlottesville.
Heller is in a tough battle for re-election next year and already faces a GOP primary challenge from the right.
The second-term senator refused to say whether he thought the president waited too long to condemn the hateful groups in Virginia. But he said the statement Trump made today was appropriately "much stronger" than the one he made in the aftermath of carnage.
