Donald Trump’s teleprompter is back from vacation to denounce racism

After a weekend of violence in Charlottesville prompted by rallying white supremacists, President Donald Trump went on camera Monday to... read off a teleprompter.

Trump isn't known for his extemporaneous speaking (or tweeting) skills. On Saturday his lukewarm tweet condemning violence in Charlottesville from "many sides" was swiftly and strongly critiqued for its failure to address white supremacist ideology, the KKK and neo-Nazis directly.

So, on Monday, Trump gave a statement from the White House, this time reading prepared remarks directly from a teleprompter which, after three days of silence on racism, struck many as too little, too late.

Trump has a famously tenuous relationship with the teleprompter. Though he frequently criticized Hillary Clinton for her use of them during the 2016 campaign, he has since made use of it himself, which is par for the presidential course. But when it takes you three days and a prepared script to say, "the KKK is bad," you might have a problem.

It's also a bold reversal for a man who, per CNN, said at a 2015 rally: "I've always said, if you run for president, you shouldn't be allowed to use teleprompters ... Because you don't even know if the guy's smart." Take from that what you will.

Naturally, Trump's ability to read on command has left Twitter unimpressed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.