Did Donald Trump give a green light to white supremacist groups?
When asked by moderator Chris Wallace Tuesday night whether he would condemn white supremacists, he told a fringe far-right group, Proud Boys, to “stand down and stand by.”
By OMRI NAHMIASUS President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden participate in their first 2020 presidential campaign debate held on the campus of the Cleveland Clinic at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, US(photo credit: BRIAN SNYDER / REUTERS)
One of the most memorable moments of the presidential debate Tuesday night was when US President Donald Trump fell short of condemning white supremacist groups.It echoed the way he had blamed “both sides” for the 2017 violence between white supremacists and anti-racist protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia.When asked by moderator Chris Wallace Tuesday night whether he would condemn white supremacists, he cited a fringe far-right group, Proud Boys, and told it to “stand down and stand by,” a comment that was embraced on the group’s social media page.Inexplicably, the next day, even though he was the one to bring up the group, he claimed “I don’t know who Proud Boys are,” adding that “whoever they are,” they should “stand down” and “let law enforcement do their work.” In the aftermath, multiple Jewish organizations criticized Trump and called him to unequivocally denounce the Proud Boys and white supremacy.“POTUS – Bigots, racists, and antisemites are rejoicing at your refusal to condemn white supremacy,” the American Jewish Committee tweeted. “There can be no ambiguity on this issue. White supremacists should not just be told to ‘stand by’ – they need to be renounced completely.” Abe Foxman, director emeritus of the Anti-Defamation League, tweeted: “President Trump’s failure to condemn White Supremacists in the presidential debate last night was as shocking as it was unprecedented. It is impossible to imagine any other president in our lifetime so grossly failing the test of moral leadership in the face of hate.” “President Trump’s failure to unequivocally condemn white supremacist groups and his message to the Proud Boys, a violent far-right militia-like group, that it should ‘stand by’ is deeply alarming but sadly not surprising,” Prof. Dov Waxman, director of the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, told The Jerusalem Post.“Not only has he refused to disavow far-right extremists on many occasions, but he has also encouraged them by repeatedly signaling his approval for some of their activities,” he continued. “Whether this is because he agrees with them or merely doesn’t want to lose their support, Trump’s refusal to denounce such groups emboldens them, thereby endangering Jews and other minority groups in the United States.” Neil Strauss, national spokesman for the Republican Jewish Coalition, defended Trump, telling the Post that the president answered ‘sure, I absolutely will’ when asked if he would condemn white nationalists.“So, he answered the question and answered in the affirmative. There was a lot of back and forth. There was a lot of yelling at each other. I’m sure both candidates probably feel like their complete message didn’t get out on a number of issues,” Strauss said.“The president keeps getting asked to do this, and he’s done it time after time. I think that the president’s opponents wish that he wouldn’t condemn them, so that they could try to score political points. And when he does... they go and try to say that it wasn’t enough or it didn’t go far enough or he didn’t really mean what he said. And the truth is, they keep moving the goalposts,” he added.Halie Soifer, executive director for the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said that Trump’s comments were in line with his past behavior.“He has done this since 2016 when he claimed not to know David Duke, who endorsed him, as he claimed not to know the Proud Boys,” she told the Post.
“Claims that the president’s comments at the debate were taken out of context are ridiculous,” she added. “President Trump was given ample opportunity last night to denounce white supremacy, and he chose not to. Instead, he sent a clear message – one that was viewed as a call to arms by right-wing extremists, telling the Proud Boys to stand up and stand down and stand by.”
