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?"
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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
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