Proud Boys at a Trump rally, Orlando, Florida, June 18, 2019 (Gerardo Mora/Getty)
With US elections less than five weeks away, Republican legislators scramble to distance themselves from Donald Trump’s remarks on white supremacy.
In the first Presidential debate with Joe Biden on Tuesday, Trump told the white supremacist militia Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” for action against “Antifa and the Left”. On social media, the group — which has marched to confront anti-racism movements in cities across the US — took the comment as an endorsement.
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday that it was “unacceptable not to condemn white supremacists”, although he did not mention Trump by name.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close friend of Trump and facing a tough re-election battle in South Carolina, called to Trump to “make it clear Proud Boys is a racist organization antithetical to American ideals”.
Rep. Tom Cole said in an interview that Trump should clearly denounce the Proud Boys and other extremist groups: “All he has to say is, ‘There’s no place for racial intolerance in this country’, and be very forceful about it.”
And Sen. Tim Scott, one of two Black Republicans in Congress, suggested that Trump “misspoke”. But he added, “If he doesn’t correct it, I guess he didn’t misspeak.”
“I Don’t Know Who The Proud Boys Are”
Trump, trailing Biden in polls as the GOP tries to hold a Senate majority, went on the defensive yesterday with the claim that he was ignorant.
I don’t know who the Proud Boys are. I mean, you’ll have to give me a definition because I really don’t know who they are. I can only say they have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work.
Trump says he does "not know who the Proud Boys are," but they should "stand down and let law enforcement do their work."
(He said they should "stand by" last night.) pic.twitter.com/kgi2R8DgN9
— The Recount (@therecount) September 30, 2020
Trump also lied that he has “always denounced any form” of white supremacism.
In 2017, Trump repeatedly excused white supremacist marches in Charlottesville, Virginia that killed one anti-racism marcher and wounded dozens.
This spring, he called on militias to “LIBERATE” states where Democratic Governors had implemented measures to contain Coronavirus.
See TrumpWatch, Day 1,184: Coronavirus — Trump Calls for Illegal Protests to Overturn State Orders
Despite the criticism from McConnell, Trump’s protector in the Senate, other Republican legislators continued to shield Trump over his aggressive, bullying performance in Tuesday’s debate.
“How many times does he have to say it if the question is, ‘Would you denounce it’ and the answer is yes?” asked House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. “He did that.”
Advisors declared that Trump was “elated” about his performance. In a Wednesday night rally in Minnesota, Trump gave an hour-long rambling recap, doubling down on disinformation — including about Biden’s family — insults, and his invocation of culture wars with “socialists” and “communists”.
Some former Republican leaders expressed despair.
Marc Racicot, who was Governor of Montana and chairman of the Republican National Committee, said, “I was embarrassed, that’s why I shut off. I thought it was a degradation.”
Racicot said he has decided to vote for Biden. He reflected on Trump’s comments about the Proud Boys, “It gnawed at my conscience. I’ve concluded that he’s dangerous to the existence of the republic as we know it.”
Biden: “Cease and Desist”
Speaking to reporters at an Ohio campaign stop, Joe Biden told white supremacist groups to “cease and desist”: “This is not who we are as Americans.”
He said of Tuesday’s debate, “The President of the United States conducting himself the way he did, I think it was just a national embarrassment.”
Biden said, “I’m urging the American people. Go out and vote. Show up. If you can vote early, vote early.”
