'White supremacy is repulsive': Ryan

House Speaker Paul Ryan is the first Republican leader to comment on President Donald Trump's remarks about the deadly Charlottesville rally, declaring in a tweet that "white supremacy is repulsive."

The Wisconsin Republican has sought to keep the GOP caucus on Capitol Hill focused on legislative priorities. His Twitter account is full of messages about the need to overhaul the US tax code.

But Trump has shifted the public's attention away from the Republican agenda with his renewed declaration that "there is blame on both sides" for the violence last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia.

"We must be clear," Ryan tweeted. "White supremacy is repulsive. This bigotry is counter to all this country stands for. There can be no moral ambiguity."