The makers behind the Merriam-Webster dictionary on Tuesday night shared the definitions of “stand back” and “stand by” after President Trump refused to denounce white supremacy and the Proud Boys.
During the presidential debate against Democratic nominee Joe Biden, Trump was asked by moderator Chris Wallace of Fox News to denounce white supremacists and militia groups who have aligned themselves with him.
Trump asked Wallace to “give me a name,” and Biden pointed to the Proud Boys, a group that the Southern Poverty Law Center has designated as a hate group.
“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” Trump said.
Merriam-Webster noted that “stand back” means to “take a few steps backwards” but “stand by” means “to be or to get ready to act.”
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.” They have been tied to violent protests, often in support of the president.
The far-right group celebrated online after they were mentioned during the debate, sharing a new logo with Trump’s remarks. Many of the members reportedly interpreted “stand back and stand by” as a call to arms.
“This. This is Donald Trump’s America,” Biden wrote on Twitter.
Congressional Democrats immediately tore into Trump’s refusal to condemn white supremacists.
“President Trump was asked to condemn white supremacy. He refused,” tweeted Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.). “He told white supremacists to ‘stand back and stand by.’ President Trump is a national disgrace, and Americans will not stand for it.”
“Donald Trump is a white supremacist,” added Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). “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.”