Trump calls into Fox News, says he condemns the KKK, Proud Boys, and 'all white supremacists'

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

Two days after a presidential debate in which President Trump refused to condemn white supremacists, he called into Fox News host Sean Hannity's show to denounce the Ku Klux Klan and the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group.

"I have to say, I've said it many times, and let me be clear again, I condemn the KKK," Trump claimed Thursday night. "I condemn all white supremacists. I condemn the Proud Boys. I don't know much about the Proud Boys, almost nothing, but I condemn that." He then said Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden "should condemn antifa," calling the anti-fascism movement "a really bad group of people."

During the debate, Trump said he was "willing" to condemn white supremacists and militia groups, but claimed that "almost" all of the violence he sees is "from the left wing, not the right wing." When pressed by moderator Chris Wallace, Trump said, "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," and Trump responded: "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. 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." The Proud Boys quickly celebrated the shout out, but the next day, Trump told reporters he actually had had no clue who the Proud Boys are and they need to let law enforcement do their job. Catherine Garcia

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Catherine Garcia

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.