Clinton aide hammers Trump campaign: 'Own up to' giving alt-right a platform

President-elect Donald TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE’s team must “own up” to appealing to and empowering white nationalists during his presidential campaign, a top Hillary ClintonHillary Diane Rodham ClintonWhite House accuses Biden of pushing ‘conspiracy theories’ with Trump election claim Biden courts younger voters — who have been a weakness Trayvon Martin’s mother Sybrina Fulton qualifies to run for county commissioner in Florida MORE aide writes in a new Washington Post op-ed.

Jennifer Palmieri, who served as the Clinton campaign’s communications director, said Trump gave a platform to the “alt-right” movement.

“Trump provided a platform by retweeting white nationalists — giving their views an audience of millions. Views previously relegated to the darkest corners of the Internet also had a platform on Breitbart, the website of Trump campaign chief executive Stephen K. Bannon,” Palmieri wrote.

“I don’t know whether the Trump campaign needed to give a platform to white supremacists to win. But the campaign clearly did, and it had the effect of empowering the white-nationalist movement.”

She also chastised Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s first campaign manager, for saying at a Harvard forum last week that the media took Trump’s words “literally.”

“That’s right. We did. You should take a candidate for president’s words literally,” she wrote.

“You know who else took his words literally? White supremacists. The white supremacists who lauded Trump with cries of ‘Hail, Trump!’ [Former KKK leader David] Duke, who expressed confidence that Trump’s decision to make Bannon his chief strategist meant Duke’s ideology would have a prominent place in the West Wing.”

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Trump needs to own up to the consequences of his words, whether he intended for people to take them literally or not, she said.

“If Trump expects the Americans who did not vote for him to accept him as president, he needs to show that he accepts all of them as Americans. He needs to show that he understands their concerns and hears their fears.”