Who is it that repeats the "fine people on both sides" comment again and again, never mentioning Trump's explicit condemnation of white nationalists? It's not Trump, or the Republicans. It's Democrats and the Democrat-supporting news media. If there are any white nationalists taking comfort from the (incorrect) idea that the US president is sympathetic to their cause, it is not Trump's fault. It is, to be blunt, YOUR fault.
And the same for bleach. Why did the news media portray Trump's comments as a recommendation for people to drink bleach, rather than (correctly) portray him as suggesting research into something related to bleach? (If they have to criticize Trump, they could then mock him for thinking he knows anything about what the promising directions in medical research are.)
We all know why, don't we? They prioritized political gains over lives.
ADDED: To address your other point: Sure, one might be able to argue that people wanting to keep up a statue of Robert E. Lee are really more or less white nationalists. Just as you can argue that people in favour of a minimum wage are really more or less communists. Conflating these "more or less X" views with actual X is not a recipe for maintaining a stable democratic society.
And the same for bleach. Why did the news media portray Trump's comments as a recommendation for people to drink bleach, rather than (correctly) portray him as suggesting research into something related to bleach? (If they have to criticize Trump, they could then mock him for thinking he knows anything about what the promising directions in medical research are.)
We all know why, don't we? They prioritized political gains over lives.
ADDED: To address your other point: Sure, one might be able to argue that people wanting to keep up a statue of Robert E. Lee are really more or less white nationalists. Just as you can argue that people in favour of a minimum wage are really more or less communists. Conflating these "more or less X" views with actual X is not a recipe for maintaining a stable democratic society.