Trump Mops Up ‘Stand By’ Mess by Claiming He Actually Doesn’t Know Who the Proud Boys Are
The president now claims he knows nothing about the far-right hate group he told to “stand back and stand by.”
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty Images
President Trump claimed Wednesday that he’d never heard of the Proud Boys, a day after saying that the far-right extremist group should “stand back and stand by.” “I don’t know who the Proud Boys are,” Trump said as he left D.C. for Minnesota. “Whoever they are they have to stand down. Let law enforcement do their work... antifa is a real problem because the problem is on the left.”
In yesterday’s debate, Trump repeatedly refused to condemn white supremacists when asked by moderator Chris Wallace if he would tell them and militia groups to stand down amid violence in places like Kenosha and Portland. “Who would you like me to condemn? The Proud Boys? Stand back and stand by. But I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell you what. Somebody’s gotta do something about antifa and the left, because this is not a right-wing problem,” Trump said. Several Proud Boys interpreted the remark as permission to potentially incite violence.
Here's Trump lying and saying "I don't know who the Proud Boys are." He doesn't denounce them. pic.twitter.com/B8QDfH17zI
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 30, 2020
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.