Trump, who took office in January 2017, was elected in November of the previous year. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Southern Poverty Law Center, founded in 1971, defines hate groups as organizations with beliefs or practices that demonize a class of people. In the past, some groups have criticized the Alabama-based organization’s findings, with skeptics saying it has mislabeled legitimate organizations as “hate groups.” In August, Trump came under fire for saying “both sides” were to blame for violence at a white supremacist rally in Virginia where a counter-protester was killed. The Republican president was also criticized for a string of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim comments, including using a vulgar term to describe Haiti and African countries last month.

Source: Huffington Post February 21, 2018 21:11 UTC