REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
The Trump transition team has weighed in on a weekend conference of the National Policy Institute, which saw white nationalists and far-right figureheads converge in Washington D.C. "President-elect Trump has continued to denounce racism of any kind and he was elected because he will be a leader for every American," reads a statement released by his transition team. "To think otherwise is a complete misrepresentation of the movement that united Americans from all backgrounds."
The National Policy institute describes itself as "dedicated to the heritage, identity, and future of people of European descent," and its weekend gathering drew national attention for its explicitly racist and pro-Nazi themes. In one speech, white-nationalist Richard Spenser spoke against Jewish people and invoked Nazi language. Attendees shouted "heil" and gave Nazi salutes. The group has been emboldened by the Trump administration's apparent embrace of alt-right icons including Breitbart head Steve Bannon.