Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Trump to Far-Right Extremists: 'Stand Back and Stand by'
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
September 30, 2020

Share

President Donald Trump on Tuesday didn’t condemn white supremacist groups and their role in violence in some American cities this summer, branding it solely a “left-wing” problem and telling one far-right extremist group to “stand back and stand by.”

“Almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing,” said Trump, whose exchange with Democrat Joe Biden left the extremist group Proud Boys celebrating what some of its members saw as tacit approval.

He was responding to a question from debate moderator Chris Wallace, who asked the president if he would condemn white supremacist and militia groups that have showed up at some protests. Wallace specifically mentioned Kenosha, Wisconsin, where a white teenager was charged with killing two protesters during demonstrations over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man. Trump has repeatedly blamed “antifa,” which stands for the anti-fascist movement.

“I’m willing to do anything. I want to see peace,” Trump said. “What do you want to call them? Give me a name.”

“Proud Boys,” Democrat Joe Biden chimed in, referencing a far-right extremist group that has shown up at protests in the Pacific Northwest. The male-only group of neo-fascists describes themselves as “western chauvinists,” and they have been known to incite street violence.

“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” Trump said. “But 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.”

FBI Director Christopher Wray told a congressional panel last week, though, that white supremacists and anti-government extremists have been responsible for most of the recent deadly attacks by extremist groups within the U.S.

Trump, a Republican, has tried to tie incidents of violence that have accompanied largely peaceful protests to Biden and the Democrats, running on a “law and order” message that warns people won’t be safe under a Democratic president. It’s a message aimed squarely at white suburban voters, including women who voted for Trump in 2016 but may not do so again.

President Donald Trump speaks during the first presidential debate with Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Proud Boys Leaders and Supporters Later Celebrated the President’s Words on Social Media

“What we saw was a dog whistle through a bullhorn,” California Sen. Kamala Harris, Biden’s running mate, said on MSNBC after the debate. “Donald Trump is not pretending to be anything other than what he is: Someone who will not condemn white supremacists.”

Proud Boys leaders and supporters later celebrated the president’s words on social media. A channel on Telegram, an instant messaging service, with more than 5,000 of the group’s members posted “Stand Back” and “Stand By” above and below the group’s logo.

Biden has said he decided to run for president after Trump said there were “very fine people” on both sides of a 2017 protest led by white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a counterprotester was killed.

Trump said Tuesday that Biden was afraid to say the words “law and order” and pressed him to give examples of law enforcement groups that back his campaign. Biden didn’t name any, but said he’s in favor of “law and order with justice, where people get treated fairly.”

Biden called antifa “an idea, not an organization.” That’s similar to how Wray described it, though Trump has called on the federal government to characterize antifa as a terrorist organization.

At another point in the debate, when discussing a Trump administration move to end racial sensitivity training in the federal government, Biden directly called Trump a racist. He also accused him of trying to sow racist hatred and racist division in the country.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

Kim Kardashian Dons a Graduation Cap and Marches Closer to Becoming a Lawyer

Three Well-Tested Ways to Undermine an Autocrat

48 minutes ago

Test Your Memorial Day Knowledge With This Quiz

2 hours ago

Gaza Health System at Breaking Point as Israeli Hostilities Intensify, WHO Says

(Reuters) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday that Gaza’s health system is at a breaking point as Israel̵...

11 minutes ago

Palestinians make their way with belongings as they flee their homes after the Israeli military issued orders of evacuation from the northern Gaza Strip, May 22, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
11 minutes ago

Gaza Health System at Breaking Point as Israeli Hostilities Intensify, WHO Says

13 minutes ago

Trump Re-Escalates Trade Threats, Takes Aim at European Union, Apple

Workers construct a single family home at a Lennar housing development in San Diego, California, U.S., March 11, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
20 minutes ago

US New Home Sales Unexpectedly Rise in April

48 minutes ago

Three Well-Tested Ways to Undermine an Autocrat

2 hours ago

Test Your Memorial Day Knowledge With This Quiz

15 hours ago

Work Requirements Could Transform Medicaid and Food Aid Under US Budget Bill

16 hours ago

Stop Making Cents: US Mint Moves Forward With Plans to Kill the Penny

Huron 2017 Cold Case Murder
16 hours ago

Fresno County Detectives Revive 2017 Drive-By Murder Case

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend