Trump refuses to denounce white supremacy, says ‘stand back and stand by’ on Proud Boys movement

President Trump refused to denounce white supremacy during an intense debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden Tuesday night. 

“Almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing,” Trump said when directly asked to denounce white supremacists and militia groups who have aligned themselves with him. 

Chris Wallace: “Are you willing, tonight, to condemn white supremacists and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down…”

Trump: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by! But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left.” pic.twitter.com/4vrPocKzcu

— Axios (@axios) September 29, 2020

Trump asked moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News to “give me a name,” then Biden chimed in and noted the Proud Boys, a group that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as a hate group.

The Proud Boys describe themselves as “a pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world; aka Western Chauvinists” and have been tied to violent protests, often in support of the president.

“Proud Boys — stand back and stand by,” Trump said Tuesday night.

Trump then moved attention to the left-wing anti-fascist movement known as antifa. 

“Somebody has got to do something about antifa and the left because this isn’t a right-wing problem, this is a left-wing problem,” Trump said. 

Biden then noted that FBI Director Christopher Wray has said antifa is not a formal organization, but an ideology. 

“Well then, you know what, he’s wrong,” Trump said of Wray.