Welcome to the fight, Sen. Mike Lee. What took you so long?

When a “Unite the Right” rally turned deadly Saturday, Aug. 12, in Charlottesville, Virginia, President Donald J. Trump did not call out the neo-Nazis, Klansmen and white supremacists responsible; instead, he provided them with political cover by pointing to bigotry and hatred on “many sides, many sides.”

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Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch rejected Trump’s defense of racism.

“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,” Hatch tweeted moments after Trump’s remarks.

A handful of other Republican senators joined Hatch in condemning the hate groups by name. Others broadly denounced hatred and racism.

Lee said nothing.

• RELATED: “Sen. Mike Lee’s silence on Charlottesville is unacceptable”

Even after the president condemned the Klan and neo-Nazis by name Monday, Lee remained silent.

Finally, shortly before 1 p.m. Tuesday, Lee posted this on his Facebook page:

My office has received a number of calls about the tragedy in Charlottesville this past weekend. I have been telling everyone who asked that I was saddened and alarmed by the death and injuries that took place. The neo-Nazi thugs responsible for this violence must be held accountable by law enforcement so incidents like this do not happen again. I am confident that if we all treat our fellow beings with the love and respect they deserve, our country can be united again.

Everyone who asked? You’re a United States senator, sworn to defend the Constitution against “all enemies, foreign and domestic,” and your constituents needed to call and invite you personally to condemn white supremacy?

But within minutes, Trump obliterated Lee’s statement by once again insisting “both sides” bore responsibility for the bloodshed in Charlottesville.

That forced Lee to break with Trump and unequivocally denounce Nazism. He made this Facebook post about 7 a.m. Wednesday:

Carrying a Nazi flag or any other symbol of white supremacy is a hateful act that cannot be morally defended, least of all by the leader of a diverse nation still healing from its original sin of racist slavery. Racists may have a constitutional right to express their repugnant ideas. But the rest of us have a duty to affirm and defend the values — the moral, political, and religious values — that have helped Americans overcome violent racism at home and abroad, in war and in peace, for generations.

You’re right, senator. We all have a responsibility to affirm America’s fundamental moral, political and religious values. And that responsibility became urgent Saturday, long before you joined the fight.

Next time, don’t wait. Because when you do, it only emboldens the white supremacists.