President addresses supporters in his first rally after uproar over the white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Va.

President Donald Trump, in his first rally after the violent white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Va., earlier this month, attacked the news media and his fellow Republicans who were critical of his response to the protest. In an address of more than an hour, Mr. Trump accused the news media of “fomenting divisions” and attacked his GOP colleagues for failure to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. He also urged supporters to press lawmakers on the overhaul of the tax code. Mr. Trump’s remarks about the Charlottesville violence—which initially oscillated between condemning the white supremacists and saying that “both sides” were to blame—were criticized by lawmakers, business leaders and civil-rights groups. The White House had sought to end those defections on Monday with a somber statement that unequivocally rejected bigotry and racism. At the rally, Mr. Trump issued a forceful condemnation of “the thugs” who perpetrate hatred and violence. “What happened in Charlottesville strikes at the core of America,” he said. But Mr. Trump also reiterated his previous criticism of efforts to remove Confederate monuments, including a statue of Civil War general Robert E. Lee, which sparked the demonstration in Charlottesville. “They are trying to take away our history and our heritage,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday of the news media. The rally was the latest example of the White House’s struggle to control its narrative.

“We’re finally defending our own borders,” Mr. Trump said later in the rally Tuesday.

He also threatened to shut down the government to secure funding for a wall on the southwest border.

Some of his loudest cheers of the night came when he praised former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was found guilty last month of criminal contempt for defying a judge’s order to stop conducting immigration patrols in the state. Mr. Trump has hinted in recent weeks that he is considering pardoning Mr. Arpaio, but didn’t do so on Tuesday evening.

What started as largely peaceful protests turned raucous following the conclusion of Mr. Trump’s remarks, as Phoenix police deployed tear gas, pepper balls and loud flash bangs to disband the crowds. Protesters dispersed, coughing and with burning eyes. Some Trump supporters exiting the convention center appeared largely unaware of the scene unfolding on the street.

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