Ocasio-Cortez calls Trump a ‘white supremacist’ after debate

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) labeled President Trump a “white supremacist” after his first presidential debate against Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Tuesday.

Ocasio-Cortez retweeted a clip of Trump refusing to condemn white supremacy and telling the Proud Boys, a group labeled by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group, to “stand back and stand by.”

“Donald Trump is a white supremacist,” she tweeted. 

“People have been warning about this for a long time,” she continued. “They were ridiculed, called hyperbolic & radical — not bc they were wrong, but bc others couldn’t accept that our country elected a supremacist as President.”

“This is fascism at our door,” she concluded. 

Donald Trump is a white supremacist.

People have been warning about this for a long time.

They were ridiculed, called hyperbolic & radical – not bc they were wrong, but bc others couldn’t accept that our country elected a supremacist as President.

This is fascism at our door. https://t.co/sahloCJt25

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 30, 2020

The retweeted video from an Axios post highlighted one of the most memorable moments of the chaotic debate, when moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump if he was willing to condemn “white supremacists and militia groups.”

“Sure I’m willing to do that, but I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing,” he said.

“I’m willing to do anything. I want to see peace,” the president said, calling on Wallace to “give me a name.”

Biden chimed in mentioning the Proud Boys, prompting Trump to say, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.” He then redirected his comments back to the far-left antifa movement.

The Proud Boys describe themselves as “a pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world, also known as Western Chauvinists.”

The group celebrated the president’s debate comments online, including promoting a logo with Trump’s “stand back and stand by” comment and reportedly understanding it as a call to arms.

Biden tweeted in response to the Proud Boys’ online remarks, saying, “This. This is Donald Trump’s America.”

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) also denounced Trump in a tweet.

“President Trump was asked to condemn white supremacy. He refused,” he posted. “He told white supremacists to ‘stand back and stand by.’ President Trump is a national disgrace, and Americans will not stand for it.”

President Trump was asked to condemn white supremacy.

He refused.

He told white supremacists to “stand back and stand by.”

President Trump is a national disgrace, and Americans will not stand for it.

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 30, 2020