Trump refuses to condemn white supremacists, tells Proud Boys to 'stand back and stand by'

Donald Trump.
(Image credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images)

President Trump refused to condemn white supremacists by name during Tuesday night's debate, instead castigating antifa and calling the movement "a dangerous, radical group."

Moderator Chris Wallace said that Trump has repeatedly criticized Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for not explicitly calling out left-wing extremist groups, and asked him if he was "willing tonight to condemn white supremacists and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence at a number of these cities, as we saw in Kenosha and as we've seen in Portland."

"Sure, I'm willing to do that, but I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not the right wing," Trump responded. "I'm willing to do anything, I want to see peace." Wallace responded, "Then do it, sir," to which Trump replied, "You want to call them, what do you want to call them, give me a name, give me a name, who would you like me to condemn?"

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up

Both Wallace and Biden said "white supremacists" and "Proud Boys," referring to the far-right extremist group. "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by," Trump responded. "I'll tell you what, I'll tell you what, somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem, this is a left-wing problem."

See more

Biden noted that FBI Director Christopher Wray has described antifa as an ideology rather than an organized group. Meanwhile, reporters observed that the Proud Boys seemed to be celebrating the president's answer to the question. Catherine Garcia

See more
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.