The first way in which Trump damaged the country was in his salute to violent extremists. “Are you willing tonight to condemn white supremacists?” Chris Wallace, the Fox News anchor who moderated the debate, asked Trump. “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” Trump declared. The Proud Boys, founded in 2016, are part of what the Southern Poverty Law Center calls “a fascistic right-wing political bloc.” The Anti-Defamation League compares it to a gang. The Proud Boys’ founder once said, “I cannot recommend violence enough,” and its members have brandished guns, committed criminal assaults and engaged in rioting.

Source: International New York Times October 01, 2020 00:43 UTC