Trump to Proud Boys: 'Stand Back and Stand By'

By Leila Fadel, NPR

30 September 20

resident Trump did not explicitly condemn white supremacy and right-wing militias during the debate, despite an invitation from moderator Chris Wallace, claiming that the “left wing” is more responsible for violence than the “right wing.” Here’s the question that prompted Trump’s reaction:

WALLACE: But are you willing, tonight, to condemn white supremacists and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of these cities as we saw in Kenosha and as we’ve seen in Portland? Are you prepared to specifically do that?

Trump responded: “Sure, I’m prepared to do that. I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing. I’m willing to do anything. I want to see peace.” Both Wallace and Joe Biden asked him to “do it.” And then, Trump singled out one group with a statement that has drawn alarm:

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. Because this is not a right-wing problem — this is a left-wing problem.

The Proud Boys, a group labeled by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group, was involved in the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017, which attracted a number of white supremacist groups. Members of the Proud Boys are known for using white nationalist memes as well as anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric.

The FBI has elevated the threat level of racially motivated violent extremists in the U.S. to a “national threat priority” this year. In testimony this month to the House Homeland Security Committee, FBI Director Christopher Wray said the majority of domestic terrorism threats and violence comes from “racially motivated violent extremism,” mostly from people who subscribe to white supremacist ideologies.

Wray described antifa as an ideology or movement rather than an organized group and said the FBI was investigating some cases involving people who self-identify with antifa. But he said the protest-related violence doesn’t appear to be organized or connected to one group. Protests for racial justice have at times turned violent but have largely been peaceful.