Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump, a man who has quickly and bluntly called out terrorist attacks for years and slammed his opponents for being too sheepish in the face of terror, said Tuesday that he gave a vague statement about violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday because he wanted to wait for the facts.

The comment flies in the face of much of what Trump has said and done over the last two years, such as quickly labeling violence abroad as terrorism even before any official confirmation.

"I didn't wait long. I didn't wait long," Trump said Tuesday when explaining his delay before condemning white supremacists. "I wanted to make sure, unlike most politicians, that what I said was correct, not make a quick statement."

He added: "The statement I made on Saturday, the first statement, was a fine statement. But you don't make statements that direct unless you know the facts. It takes a little while to get the facts."

Then, in a moment that contrasted wildly with the Trump that Americans came to know on the campaign trail, the President said he didn't "want to go quickly and just make a statement for the sake of making a political statement."

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