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Donald Trump refused to condemn white supremacists and violent right-wing groups during a controversial first presidential debate in which the issue of protests against racism and civic unrest was one of the topics of discussion.
When the moderator, Chris Wallace, repeatedly asked him to condemn the actions of white supremacists and other groups, such as far-right militias or organizations, Trump ignored the question and instead attempted to criticize the actions of left-wing groups and activists. .
The line of questions ultimately led Trump to mention the Proud Boys, a far-right group often associated with violent protests, especially in Portland, Oregon. Trump appeared to address the group saying, “Proud guys, get away and wait! But I’ll tell you something, someone has to do something with Antifa and the left. “
Antifa is a broad term for ideologically aligned antifascist groups, but it is not a separate organization in any sense.
About 1,000 Proud Boys supporters, some armed, demonstrated in Portland, Oregon, last weekend in a largely peaceful event that made many observers nervous for fear of violence. The Proud Boys, which the Southern Poverty Law Center calls a hate group, said they were organizing a free speech event to support Trump and the police.
Trump has repeatedly criticized racist groups and expressed support for protesters seeking to keep Confederate monuments on the streets of America. In the wake of violent far-right and neo-Nazi protests in Charlottesville in 2017, in which a counter-protester was killed, Trump said “there were very good people, on both sides.”
Some observers said that Trump’s comments provoked joy among Proud Boys members on their social media. “The Proud Boys of social media groups are freaking out over the ‘Back off and wait’ comment. They basically see it as an acknowledgment and a call to arms, “said NBC reporter Ezra Kaplan.
The group also posted a photo of its logo with Trump’s “back off and wait” comment on social media.
Trump’s refusal to condemn the group sparked outrage on the left.
After the debate, Biden, who said Trump’s comments in Charlottesville prompted him to run for president, tweeted:
“Donald Trump is a white supremacist,” New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter. “People have been warning about this for a long time. They were ridiculed, called hyperbolic and radical, not because they were wrong, but because others could not accept our country electing a supremacist as president.
“This is fascism at our doorstep.”
Rashida Tlaib, Democratic Congresswoman from Michigan, echoed: “An important reminder that while racism is being debated, Donald Trump, a white supremacist, simply told them to stay put. This again shows that it is dangerous. “
Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris also condemned the president’s refusal to repudiate white supremacists. “The president of the United States, in the year of our lord 2020, refuses to condemn white supremacists,” he said.
And Belén Sisa, Bernie Sanders’ former Latino press secretary, said, “When someone shows you who they really are, believe him.”
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