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

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

DON'T MISS

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

DON'T MISS

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

DON'T MISS

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

DON'T MISS

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

DON'T MISS

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

DON'T MISS

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

UP NEXT

Lakers Hold Off Rockets With 6 3-Pointers Apiece From Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent

UP NEXT

Athletics Bat Boy Stewart Thalblum Takes Down Drone in Left Field

UP NEXT

NFL Postpones Tush Push Decision but Passes Other Rule Changes, AP Source Says

UP NEXT

March Madness: It’s South Carolina vs. Texas and UCLA vs. UConn in Women’s Final Four

UP NEXT

What to Watch in Tuesday’s Big Elections in Wisconsin and Florida

UP NEXT

Major Layoffs Begin at Health Agencies That Track Disease and Regulate Food

UP NEXT

U.S. Bank Executive Terry Dolan Dies in Plane Crash Near Minneapolis

UP NEXT

Top Vaccine Official Resigns From FDA, Criticizes RFK Jr. for Promoting Misinformation, Lies

UP NEXT

Elon Musk Backtracks on a Legally Questionable Plan to Pay Voters

UP NEXT

Utah Becomes the First State to Ban Fluoride in Public Drinking Water

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

15 hours ago

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

15 hours ago

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

15 hours ago

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

16 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

16 hours ago

Auto Sales Surged in Anticipation of Trump’s Tariffs

17 hours ago

Raid Or Rumor? Reports Of Immigrations Sweeps Are Warping Life In CA’s Central Valley

17 hours ago

House Speaker Johnson Fails to Squash a Proxy Voting Effort From New Moms in Congress

17 hours ago

UN Agency Closes Its Remaining Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle Under Israeli Blockade

17 hours ago

Hooters Goes Bust and Files for Bankruptcy Protection

18 hours ago

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

Elon Musk has reclaimed his position as the world’s wealthiest individual, according to Forbes’ 39th annual World’s Billio...

12 hours ago

12 hours ago

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

14 hours ago

California Just Blew Its First Deadline for Voter-Approved Healthcare Measure

Nassau Hall at Princeton University is in Princeton, N.J., Oct. 8, 2024. (AP File)
14 hours ago

Trump Administration Halts Dozens of Research Grants at Princeton University

After 31 years of service, Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy IV and Pilot Michael Sill is retiring, having logged over 10,000 flight hours.
15 hours ago

Fresno County Sheriff’s Pilot Takes His Last Flight as He Retires After 31 Years of Service

Khalid Ahmad holds a poster of his 17-year-old son, Waleed, who died in an Israeli prison, that reads in Arabic, "The hero prisoner Martyr, mercy and eternity for our righteous Martyrs," in the West Bank town of Silwad, northeast of Ramallah Wednesday, March 26, 2025. (AP/Nasser Nasser)
15 hours ago

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

15 hours ago

How Safe Is It to Walk to School? Fresno County Wants to Find Out

16 hours ago

Baseball Is Back! How to Listen to Your MLB Favorites and the Grizzlies

Vehicles at an Audi showroom in Miami, March 29, 2025. President Donald Trump has said that tariffs would encourage auto companies and their suppliers to move to the U.S. (Saul Martinez/The New York Times)
16 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Settled on a Tariff Plan That Is Set to Take Effect Wednesday

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

Search

Send this to a friend