McConnell: ‘It was unacceptable not to condemn white supremacists’

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday said it is “unacceptable” not to condemn white supremacists when asked about President Trump’s perceived side-stepping of the issue during his debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

McConnell, when asked whether it was a problem that Trump did not directly rebuke white supremacy, said he agreed with the remarks made by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the only Black Republican in the Senate, calling on Trump to “correct” his statement.

“With regard to the white supremacy issue, I want to associate myself with the remarks of Sen. Tim Scott,” McConnell told reporters. “I think he said it exactly correctly and that’s exactly how I would express myself on that issue.”

“He said it was unacceptable not to condemn white supremacists and so I do so in the strongest possible way,” the GOP leader added.

Trump called on one prominent white supremacist group, the Proud Boys, to “stand back and stand by” and then quickly added: “Somebody’s got to do something about antifa and the left.”

Scott, appearing alongside Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett earlier, said Trump should correct what the senator thought was a misstatement.