President Trump’s allies defended his refusal to condemn the white supremacists to the debate with Joe Biden on Tuesday, and his comment that the Proud Boys, a far-right group, deserve to “stand by. “
When asked Tuesday through moderator Chris Wallace if he would condemn white supremacist groups, Trump responded that he was “willing to do so,” but then temporarily blamed the “left wing” for the recent riots in the country’s cities. Trump asked Wallace “who he would like him to condemn,” and Biden stepped in and asked the president to respond to the Proud Boys.
“The Proud Boys: Step back and stay away,” Trump said. Members of the organization took the president’s words as a stimulus and added the word “step back and stay ready” to their logo on the Telegram social media platform. One of the organization’s executives, Joe Biggs, wrote on the conservative social media platform Talking that Trump “makes me so happy. “The organization has been suspended from social media platforms, adding Facebook and Twitter.
The Southern Poverty Law Center lists the Proud Boys as a hate organization because its leaders “regularly publish white nationalist memes and affiliations with known extremists,” and the organization is known for its “anti-Muslim and misgina rhetoric. “Jason, a former proud boys member Kessler helped organize the white supremacist demonstration “Unite the Right” in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
Trump’s comments would possibly instill some enthusiasm in the group, which has recently struggled to participate in the protests. The Proud Boys held a demonstration in Portland, Oregon, on September 26, but only a few hundred people attended the event. much less than the expected 10,000 attendees across the group.
Donald Trump Jr. , the president’s son, defended his father’s comments to CBS News’ Gayle King on Tuesday night, arguing that Trump. Trump in the organization to “withdraw. “
“I don’t know if it was a language error, but he’s talking about making them quit,” Trump Jr. said.
“I don’t know if it was a language error, yet he talks about getting them to quit,” https://t. co/XoIMrd5i2b pic. twitter. com/6IvCVkvRth
White House Director of Strategic Communications Alyssa Farah said in an interview with Fox News Wednesday morning that Trump did want to explain his words.
“I don’t think there’s anything to clarify. He told them to take a step back,” Farah said.
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, a common critic of the president, said Wednesday that “of course” Trump has explicitly condemned white supremacy. Republican Senator Mike Rounds told reporters he “expected more clarity” from the president.
Trump has been condemned more strongly through Democrats; Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, the erquivocal one; Trump’s ‘dog whistle in a megaphone’. Comments from Senator Cory Booker Cory Booker. Trump is “terrifying” and “chilling. “
Senate minority whip Dick Durbin said of the president about the Proud Boys: “He’s just afraid to face them. I’m afraid he thinks they’re his supporters, and he doesn’t need to them off before an election.