Donald Trump claims he doesn't even know what the 'alt-right' is
Donald Trump completely dismissed Hillary Clinton's arguments Thursday that he's part of the "alt-right" on the grounds that he doesn't even know what that term means. "Nobody even knows what it is, and she didn't know what it was. This is a term that was just given," Trump said during an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Thursday night. "Frankly, there's no alt-right or alt-left. All I'm embracing is common sense."
Cooper then gently reminded Trump that Stephen Bannon, the Breitbart News executive he recently brought on as his campaign CEO, has called his publication the "platform for the alt-right." "I don't know what Steve said. All I can tell you — I can only speak for myself," Trump said.
But, Clinton argued Thursday, Trump has been amplifying more than just his own voice. During a damning campaign speech in Reno, Clinton accused Trump of giving a "national megaphone" to the "paranoid fringe in our politics."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Watch Trump's take on the alt-right below, starting at the 4:30 mark. Becca Stanek
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Russia’s ‘weird’ campaign to boost its birth rateUnder the Radar Demographic crisis spurs lawmakers to take increasingly desperate measures
-
Could smaller cars bring down vehicle prices?Today’s Big Question Trump seems to think so, but experts aren’t so sure
-
2025’s most notable new albumsThe Week Recommends These were some of the finest releases of the past year
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
-
House GOP revolt forces vote on ACA subsidiesSpeed Read The new health care bill would lower some costs but not extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies
-
Hegseth rejects release of full boat strike footageSpeed Read There are calls to release video of the military killing two survivors of a Sept. 2 missile strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat
-
Trump vows naval blockade of most Venezuelan oilSpeed Read The announcement further escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro
-
Kushner drops Trump hotel project in SerbiaSpeed Read Affinity Partners pulled out of a deal to finance a Trump-branded development in Belgrade
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats