Debate Moderator: “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?”

The President asked, “What do you want to call them?”

“White supremacists and right-wing militias,” the moderator replied, as Vice President Biden mentioned the Proud Boys.

“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” Mr. Trump said.

It’s astonishing that, when asked a simple question about condemning white supremacists, the President could not simply disavow these groups. Instead, he sidestepped, providing a comment that needs an apology or an explanation. Now.

While the President instructs the Proud Boys to “stand by,” we will continue to stand up to them and all other extremists from the right or left who are threatening our communities.

We have been monitoring the Proud Boys through our Center on Extremism because their antisemitic, misogynistic, Islamophobic, transphobic and anti-immigration rhetoric is often paired with violence.

After their mention during the Presidential debate, the extremist group could barely contain their excitement. Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio posted on Parler, “That’s my president!” and “Standing by sir,” and the Philadelphia Proud Boys doctored an image of President Trump to show him wearing a style of polo shirt that has become the Proud Boys’ unofficial uniform.

To read more about the response from the Proud Boys, and the problematic history of this group, please read our backgrounder and a new blog post about the group that ADL posted late last night.

Your support enables ADL to monitor, expose and disrupt potential threats by shining a bright light on this hate in the public square and online.

You are standing up while the Proud Boys are standing by.