Phoenix • President Donald Trump is blaming the media for the widespread condemnation of his response to a Charlottesville, Virginia, protest organized by white supremacists that led to the killing of a counter-protester.

Trump opened his political rally in Phoenix with a call for unity, saying, “What happened in Charlottesville strikes at the core of America and tonight, this entire arena stands united in forceful condemnation of the thugs that perpetrated hatred and violence.”

But he quickly trained his ire on the media, shouting that he “openly called for healing unity and love” in the immediate aftermath of Charlottesville and claiming the media had misrepresented him. He read from his three responses to the violence — getting more animated with each one.

Democrats and fellow Republicans had denounced Trump for placing blame for the Charlottesville violence on “both sides.”

Trump spoke after Vice President Mike Pence and others called repeatedly for unity.

Housing Secretary Ben Carson and Dr. Alveda King, the niece of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., were among the openers. Franklin Graham, son of the evangelist Billy Graham, led the rally-goers in prayer, saying, “We’re divided racially, and we’re adrift morally.”

Outside the Phoenix convention center, shouting matches and minor scuffles erupted between Trump supporters and protesters gathered near the site of his latest campaign rally. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton had asked Trump to delay his political event to allow for more time of national healing after Charlottesville.

Eager to capitalize on his hard-line stance on immigration, Trump had teased the politically inflammatory possibility of pardoning former sheriff Joe Arpaio while in town. The former Maricopa County sheriff is awaiting sentencing after his conviction in federal court for disobeying court orders to stop his immigration patrols.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump wouldn’t discuss or take action on a pardon “at any point today,” even though the president had told Fox News he was considering it.

In the comfort of his most fervent fans, Trump often resurrects his free-wheeling 2016 campaign style, pinging insults at perceived enemies such as the media and meandering from topic to topic without a clear theme.

Neither of Arizona’s two Republican senators appeared with Trump.

Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, a conservative, has been a frequent target of Trump’s wrath.

The president tweeted last week: “Great to see that Dr. Kelli Ward is running against Flake Jeff Flake, who is WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate. He’s toxic!” Flake has been on tour promoting his book that says the Republican Party’s embrace of Trump has left conservatism withering.

Ward planned to attend Trump’s rally, sparking talk that the president could take the politically extraordinary step of endorsing her from the stage over an incumbent Republican senator.

In a modest but telling swipe at Ward and, by extension, at Trump, the Senate Leadership Fund, a political committee closely aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, is spending $10,000 on digital ads that say of her, “Not conservative, just crazy ideas.”

Arizona’s other senator, John McCain, is undergoing treatment for an aggressive form of brain cancer. Trump has been critical of McCain for voting against a Republican health care bill.

Tuesday’s events put Trump in more comfortable political territory than in recent days.

He began his Arizona visit with a brief trip to the southern edge of the country.

While touring a Marine Corps base in Yuma that is a hub of operations for the U.S. Border Patrol, Trump inspected a drone and other border equipment on display in a hangar.

Trump shook his head as he was shown a series of everyday objects, such as a fire extinguisher, that had been refashioned to secretly transport drugs across the border. Afterward, he spent about 20 minutes greeting service members in the grueling, 106-degree heat, signing caps with his “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan and posing for selfies on the tarmac just steps from Air Force One.

Upending a campaign vow to end the country’s longest war, Trump on Monday announced in a national address a plan to maintain to a U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. Senior U.S. officials said Trump’s strategy may involve sending up to 3,900 more troops, with some deployments beginning almost immediately.

Some of Trump’s core voters had already been unhappy about the recent ouster of conservative Steve Bannon as White House chief strategist.

Bannon had made it his mission to remind Trump of what his most fervent supporters want from his presidency. Some conservative strategists have openly worried that without Bannon around, Trump will be too influenced by establishment Republicans on issues such as Afghanistan policy.

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This story corrects the ad campaign spending figure to $10,000 instead of $100,000.

[Watch the entire heated exchange between Trump and reporters over Charlottesville]

Hours before President Donald Trump delivered his speech on the war in Afghanistan on Monday, I told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace that he needed to do more than just say we have to win. After almost 16 years in the graveyard of empires and countless tweets about how the United States needed to “get out,” the president delivered a roughly 25-minute speech — “win” (mentioned 6 times), “victory” (4), “won” (3), “defeat” (7) — that guarantees the United States will stay the course a while longer. “Trump’s barely-different Afghanistan war plan” was the perfect summation in a headline for a piece by Kevin Baron, executive editor of Defense One.

While Trump’s remarks on our longest war didn’t inspire me, what he did say at the top of his speech was remarkable. In a nation where less than 1 percent of the U.S. population is serving active-duty in the armed forces, the president read words that skillfully held up the military as a model for the nation and linked its noble goals to our nation’s noble intent.

“By following the heroic example of those who fought to preserve our republic, we can find the inspiration our country needs to unify, to heal, and to remain one nation under God. The men and women of our military operate as one team, with one shared mission, and one shared sense of purpose.

“They transcend every line of race, ethnicity, creed, and color to serve together — and sacrifice together — in absolutely perfect cohesion. That is because all servicemembers are brothers and sisters. They’re all part of the same family; it’s called the American family. They take the same oath, fight for the same flag, and live according to the same law. They are bound together by common purpose, mutual trust, and selfless devotion to our nation and to each other.

“The soldier understands what we, as a nation, too often forget -- that a wound inflicted upon a single member of our community is a wound inflicted upon us all. When one part of America hurts, we all hurt. And when one citizen suffers an injustice, we all suffer together.

“Loyalty to our nation demands loyalty to one another. Love for America requires love for all of its people. When we open our hearts to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice, no place for bigotry, and no tolerance for hate.

“The young men and women we send to fight our wars abroad deserve to return to a country that is not at war with itself at home. We cannot remain a force for peace in the world if we are not at peace with each other.

“As we send our bravest to defeat our enemies overseas — and we will always win — let us find the courage to heal our divisions within. Let us make a simple promise to the men and women we ask to fight in our name that, when they return home from battle, they will find a country that has renewed the sacred bonds of love and loyalty that unite us together as one.”

Those soaring words said by anyone else would be heralded as a much-needed balm for a nation still reeling from the unmasked racism unleashed on the nation this month. We are still coming to terms with the horror of Charlottesville. But we are also still grappling with having heard the president of the United States coddle the Confederacy and those who revere its treason, and put Nazis, white supremacists and other bigots on the same plane as the good and right people who demonstrated against them.

“When we open our hearts to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice, no place for bigotry, and no tolerance for hate.” At his rancid press conference on Aug. 15, Trump proved his heart to be sealed shut and stripped the presidency bare of its moral authority.

“We cannot remain a force for peace in the world if we are not at peace with each other.” True, but what can Trump do about it when he assaults enemies and national political discourse 140 characters at a time?

“As we send our bravest to defeat our enemies overseas - and we will always win - let us find the courage to heal our divisions within.” Healing those divisions requires a commander in chief who doesn’t take delight in exacerbating them. If Trump is to be true to these words, he could start by looking within to find that courage he talked about.

What Trump did Monday night came 10 days too late. The sentiments he expressed are meaningless, empty given the shocking and callous things he said to the nation in the lobby of his gilded tower on Fifth Avenue a week ago. And his support for protests against the removal of Confederate monuments deepens the ugliness he thought he could erase Monday night. I didn’t believe Trump’s milquetoast words on Aug. 12. I didn’t believe his grudging remarks on Aug. 14. I didn’t believe him after Monday night’s third attempt to get it right.

Trump needs to face this fact: He’ll never get it right. That black mark he raked across his presidency on Aug. 15 is indelible. He’ll never get it out because he is incapable of the contrition, humility and regret that fuel the actions necessary to remove it.

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Capehart is a Washington Post columnist.

Tyler Huntley expected his chance to come sooner rather than later when he chose Utah out of high school. He found out Saturday – and the football team announced Monday – that his time had arrived as Utah’s starting quarterback.

His position may be quarterback, but his role will be to make plays for the Utes and first-year offensive coordinator Troy Taylor. 

“I describe myself as a playmaker,” Huntley said after Tuesday’s practice, his first time speaking to reporters since being named the starter. “I know when to make a play with my feet. I know when to make a play with my arm.”

Huntley was told Saturday by Taylor that he would be the starter. Huntley supplants incumbent senior co-captain Troy Williams one season after Williams started every game for the Utes.

The University of Utah's new starting quarterback Tyler Huntley pic.twitter.com/hWVU8LlwvY

— Lynn Worthy (@LWorthySports) August 23, 2017

Changes were widely expected with Taylor putting his imprint on the offense, and the Utes made this big change a little more than a week before the season opener.

“It was an intense competition,” Utes coach Kyle Whittingham said. “It was neck and neck. There was very little separation. With Tyler’s mobility and the upside we think he has, that’s the direction we went.”

Taylor expects he’ll have to guide Huntley through the growing pains of a quarterback with no starting experience and little collegiate experience overall.

“Experience is really important , but all the great ones have had to get it at some point whether you’re Tom Brady or whatnot,” Taylor said. “So obviously, he’ll be nervous when he plays. He’s not going to be perfect, but I believe he’ll play through any mistakes that he makes and then he’ll gain that experience and become a better player.”

Taylor added there won’t be a quick hook for Huntley with two experienced backups in Williams and University of Alabama graduate transfer Cooper Bateman. Taylor said his philosophy is you must have a quarterback who isn’t looking over his shoulder in fear of being pulled for making a mistake.

Utah offensive coordinator Troy Taylor on the decision to make Tyler Huntley the starter. pic.twitter.com/gLXMDnBawM

— Lynn Worthy (@LWorthySports) August 23, 2017

Huntley’s background has been as a pass-first quarterback with the ability to run at times. He rushed for 219 yards in his senior season at Hallandale High School in Florida, and passed for 3,636 yards and 42 touchdowns (10 interceptions). He set a state record for attempts (71) against St. Thomas Aquinas while passing for 468 yards. He also passed for 515 yards in another game that season.

“He’s a true dual threat,” Whittingham said. “He’s a guy that can beat you with his arm, beat you with his legs. He’s a guy that is a very, very adept thrower. He’s got a strong arm, a quick release. He’s accurate.”

Whittingham and Taylor have both said repeatedly that Huntley made big strides as a passer and in his ability to make plays within the framework of the offense throughout camp. Whittingham pointed to the elimination of erratic throws and poor decisions Huntley made on the run last year as a true freshman, while Taylor described Huntley as being more consistent and showing “incredible” growth.

“He’s a dual-threat guy,” Taylor said. “He’s not a guy that just wants to go back there and run. When things break down, which they do — life’s not perfect — he’s able to extend plays and make people miss. He’s adept at [passing]. Obviously, the numbers he put up in high school were astounding. He’s a great passer, great decision-maker.”

Junior wide receiver Raelon Singleton, the top returning receiver from last season, indicated he and his teammates took the news of Huntley being named the starter in stride. Despite inserting an inexperienced quarterback into what’s expected to be a pass-heavy offense, Singleton said his expectation hadn’t changed.

“We’re going to start fast,” Singleton said. “We’re going to put it on them real quick.”

Draper • The Bingham volleyball team’s hitting attack almost could come from anywhere over the course of a match.

But when the going gets tough, senior Selaisa Elisaia quickly is becoming the old stand-by.

And it did get tough for the Miners, at least at the beginning, in a match at Corner Canyon on Tuesday night. After dropping the first set, Bingham (2-0) went to Elisaia time and again in the second.

The net result was a 25-27, 25-10, 25-20, 25-19 victory for the Miners, ranked No. 3 in Class 6A, against the top-ranked team in 5A.

“You’ve got to feed your best hitter, and she’s starting to get kills at will,” Bingham coach Melissa Glasker said. “I think she’s that good. When her timing’s right, and the set’s right, it’s tough to stop Selaisa.”

Bingham held a 19-16 lead in the first game, but Corner Canyon (0-1) clawed back and eventually tied at 24-24 with a kill from Katie Beelek. Tied at 25-25, the Chargers got a point off a dump by setter Seville Likes, which was followed by a Beelek service ace.

“We obviously started off slow. I think we just came in kind of slow,” Bingham senior libero Kendzee Cloward said. “When we started to get momentum, we just kind of took over and did what we had to do.”

BINGHAM 3, CORNER CANYON 1 <br>• Seleisa Elisaia registers a match-high 14 kills,with seven coming during the second set.<br>• Match is CornerCanyon’s first contest of the year. Bingham had defeated North Summit inits opener Thursday.<br>• Emma Mangum leads the Chargers with 13kills while Madison Brunatti adds eight. Bingham’s output includesnine putaways from Gabriella Langi.

What the Miners apparently had to do to get untracked was get the ball to Elisaia. The senior, who has committed to play at Cal State Bakersfield, finished the match with a contest-high 14 kills. Half of those came in the second set as Bingham rolled over the home team.

Up 13-7, the Miners scored the next six points — a run that included three kills and a block by Elisaia.

“This is a good team, and we hadn’t been challenged quite like this since the summer,” Glasker said. “I’m impressed with Corner Canyon. They did really, really well.”

Corner Canyon outside hitter Madison Brunatti was playing with protective face gear after suffering a broken nose.

Chargers coach Mindy Wilder said Brunatti’s only practice with the team this year was the one just before facing Bingham in the season-opener.

The Chargers were led by Emma Mangum’s 13 kills and two blocks, but the only lead by the hosts after the first set was a 3-1 advantage in the fourth. At that juncture, Bingham quickly went on another six-point run with kills from three different players.

Gabriella Langi collected nine kills for the victors, whose versatile attack included eight kills from Annissa Kehl and seven from Journey Tupea.

The National Weather Service issued a hazardous weather outlook Wednesday, due to scattered thunderstorms expected in eastern Utah.

The storms are expected to develop over the mountains with some cells moving over adjacent valleys during late afternoon and into the evening.

Meteorologists predict heavy rain, lightning and outflow winds up to 40 mph, according to the NWS. The scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue Thursday, and taper off through Tuesday.

Highs in Salt Lake City are expected to climb to 85 degrees Wednesday, while lows overnight will drop to about 63. The area is expected to experience isolated thunderstorms and rain showers with the chances of precipitation dropping as the day goes on.

St. George is expected to have highs of 98 degrees with lows overnight dropping to 67. The area’s forecast doesn’t include triple digits until Friday, when the high is expected to hit 100 degrees.

Air quality in Utah is rated yellow, or moderate, for Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties on Wednesday. The rest of the state’s air is rated green, or good according to the Utah Division of Air Quality.

My childhood legacy and love for Utah’s own Philo T. Farnsworth will not be taken away by Adam Gardiner, R-West Jordan.

I was a student at Ridgecrest Elementary in the 1980s. Our principal, Bruce Barnson, showed us that we can make a lasting difference in our school, community and state. No other candidate had ever been seriously considered for the honor until a fifth grade class at Ridgecrest presented a resolution to the Utah Legislature calling for the selection of Farnsworth. He was selected after studying many prominent Utahns. A written survey was also administered to 400 Utah residents. Gov. Norman H. Bangerter appointed a commission to oversee the project after it was passed during the 1987 legislative session.

I was part of the group that placed Utah’s Philo right next to Brigham Young in Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C. We learned about Philo. We met his wife. We fundraised. It was not an easy task. There was effort, love, life-long memories and lessons we learned. We reached our goal and on May 2, 1990, I was part of the choir and program in Statuary Hall when the statue of Philo was dedicated. Philo has a home.

Elizabeth B. Jensen

Cottonwood Heights

Summer is over and kids are back in school. Next week, I will be back in school as well and so will a number of my friends. I love seeing that! It’s never too late to start or go back to school.

There are many reasons to pursue additional education, including, of course, the potential for a better paying job. It’s not the only reason, however. Life-long learning is good for your pocketbook, but it’s also good for your social, emotional and physical health.

Dallin Oaks, a former Utah Supreme Court justice and leader in the LDS church tweeted Tuesday “Seek learning for the sake of learning. Pursue learning for the purpose of understanding the major issues of the day.”

Seek learning for the sake of learning. Pursue learning for the purpose of understanding the major issues of the day.

— Dallin H. Oaks (@OaksDallinH) August 22, 2017

Life-long learning can take many forms - read a book, take a class at a community center, use Khan Academy to take a large variety of online classes for free, ask an expert to teach or mentor you, pursue a formal degree or a wide variety of other options.

For those who are pursuing degrees as “non-traditional” students, I have some tips from having jumped back into formal schooling three years ago after a 30-year break.

First, let me be the first to be a cheerleader for you. You can do it! You will find that your life experience will serve you well as you work on your formal education, whether that is an undergraduate degree or an advanced degree. Go, you!

Next, be prepared for a learning curve when getting back into school mode. I completely missed more than one assignment because I forgot to check the syllabus online. Oops.

Give yourself permission to start slowly. Adding one more thing to an already busy schedule usually takes a bit of getting used to. Taking one or two classes at first can help ease that transition, plus you can try out different types of classes if you haven’t chosen a major. (It’s pretty likely that what you were interested in right out of high school has changed now that you have some life experience under your belt.)

Pick your school wisely – consider what budget your family can afford, whether it makes sense for you to take out student loans and whether you can take classes online or must attend in person.

Prepare for sticker shock when you go to buy textbooks. I recommend that you strongly consider renting them. Most of them you will not need after graduation and you will save a lot by renting. Check out Chegg.com or Amazon for textbook rentals.

Strongly consider online classes. While not for everyone, online classes can be a great option. You can choose the best time of day to work on your classes and fit them in around the other things in your schedule. All you need is a computer and an Internet connection. And just as an aside — if you tried online classes a decade ago and were not impressed, rest assured that vast improvements have been made.

Create and stick to a regular school schedule. School work will now become part of your regular routine, along with the many other things in your schedule. If your assignment is due on Wednesday night at midnight, don’t wait until Wednesday night at 10 pm to start working on it! (Trust me on this one.) Also make sure that every assignment, big or small, makes it onto your calendar.

Make a study area in your home and work there consistently. Keep your books, your computer and other necessary school supplies within easy reach. Remove distractions as much as possible. Shut off your social media while you’re doing school work. It’s way too easy to go down the Facebook rabbit hole.

Enroll your family and friends in your education. Don’t be shy in asking for support. Having a support team can make a huge difference in your success. I am lucky enough to have a husband who is my biggest cheerleader. My kids are a close second — they think it’s great that mom has homework or has to study for a test, just like they do. We cheer each other on.

So, if back-to-school finds you back in school, yay you! Here’s to a great year.

Holly Richardson will be back in school next week. Her kids want her to take a picture holding a sign saying “18th grade.” She might just do that.

On Saturday, friends and family and dignitaries will gather in Monticello for the funeral of Staff Sgt. Aaron Butler.

He was killed when a bomb detonated as an elite unit of the Utah Army National Guard were clearing a building of militants in eastern Afghanistan. Eleven others were injured.

When this war began, Butler was 12 years old. And it is a conflict that appears to have no realistic end in sight. It has cost Americans more than $1 trillion and 2,400 lives.

Monday night, President Donald Trump, in touting his new strategy in the region, did the unthinkable by tacitly admitting his simple-minded campaign pledge to pull out of Afghanistan was (gasp!) wrong.

Trump came to the realization — correctly, I believe — that withdrawal from the nation in the face of a Taliban resurgence would create a vacuum, likely plunging the nation into civil war and toppling the already shaky government. A destabilized Afghanistan could revert to a hideout for terrorists.

His solution, is really a rough sketch more than a blueprint, and members of Congress from his own party, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, are wanting more details.

“While I am hopeful President Trump truly does want to end our nation’s involvement in the 15-plus-year war in Afghanistan, I still have unanswered questions,” Lee said in a statement Tuesday, pointing at troop levels and changes to the rules of engagement.

“In the last few days alone, one member of the Utah national guard has lost his life in Afghanistan, while eleven others have been injured,” he said. “These high human costs require us to approach all wars with great caution and respect for the brave men and women who fight to keep us free.”

Generally, the new course sounds like a familiar tune — as many as 4,000 more troops arriving within a matter of days; a continued focus on training Afghan soldiers; diplomatic efforts to get Pakistan and India to help fight terrorism.

Not exactly groundbreaking stuff.

Trump tried to dress it up to appease his “America First” base, by claiming this wouldn’t be nation building and the focus would now be victory. That’s nonsense. Stabilizing and securing the country is nation-building, and it’s naive to think we’ll see a white flag and some grand peace treaty.

The sad truth was summed up by Stephen Biddle, a George Washington University professor and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, who told Foreign Policy recently: “There isn’t any way out of making a choice between unappealing options at this point. That’s just the way grown-up, real-life policy works.”

On the left, some are calling for immediate withdrawal, and on the right, there are some skeptics, like Lee. I’d like nothing more than an end to an American presence there, too.

But here is the thing: the government is too precarious and the military is unable to control large swaths of the country. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for next year, and stabilizing the country should be a near-term goal. Geopolitically, the region is too important to let it fall into chaos.

That same Foreign Policy article suggested Trump became interested in staying in Afghanistan when he was told there was as much as $1 trillion in natural resources that could create a flood of wealth. It sounds entirely believable.

And anyone who has been paying attention is right to doubt whether Trump has the temperament to actually maintain focus and execute any kind of a coherent strategy.

But, based on what we know about his plan to this point, the president may have settled on the least-terrible choice on a menu of terrible choices.

Unfortunately, that means Aaron Butler will likely not be the last soldier to die in Afghanistan. Here’s hoping we appreciate his sacrifice and that of the others who have died, and that someday soon it means stable Afghanistan and a safer, more peaceful world.

Juneau, Alaska • A Utah man charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife on a cruise to Alaska pleaded not guilty during a Wednesday hearing in which he appeared to become emotional at times.

An attorney for Kenneth Manzanares entered the plea during an arraignment in a federal courtroom in Juneau, Alaska. The judge presided via a video link from Anchorage.

Manzanares, clad in a yellow prison uniform, dabbed his eyes as the indictment against him was read.

Prosecutors have not decided if they will seek the death penalty. A hearing on that issue is expected later this year.

Manzanares was indicted by a grand jury last week in the death of his wife, Kristy Manzanares, a 39-year-old real estate agent.

She was found July 25 in a cabin on a Princess Cruises’ ship while it was in U.S. waters off Alaska. The ship, which had left Seattle on July 23 for a seven-day roundtrip cruise, later docked in Juneau for the investigation.

A neighbor of the couple told The Associated Press last month they had booked the cruise to celebrate their anniversary.

FBI Special Agent Michael Watson said in an affidavit that witnesses saw Manzanares with blood on his hands and clothing. One said Manzanares told him: “She would not stop laughing at me,” according to the affidavit.

During an FBI search, Manzanares “spontaneously stated, ‘my life is over,’” Watson said.

It is said that the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. So we must speak out. In his remarks on Aug. 15, the president equated the fire department and the fire.

I strongly urge the Republican Party (the party of Lincoln) to repudiate the Nazi Party and the KKK. This should not be difficult, but it is necessary. Our silence implies acquiescence with the president’s sophistry, that many “fine people” march with torch-bearing night riders chanting words of racial and religious hatred. And that people who oppose intimidation are equally to blame for any violence that arises when hatred is repudiated.

Both of my parents fought in World War II against the Nazis. And, as Sen. Orrin Hatch has said, “We should call evil by its name. My brother didn’t give his life fighting Hitler, for Nazi ideas to go unchallenged here at home.”

So, please, Republicans, good men and women all, for the sake of our children, call evil by its name, challenge the Nazi Party, the KKK and, amazingly, challenge the words of the president of the United States.

Mark Gardner

Salt Lake City