During a segment on race relations, moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump if he was willing to denounce “white supremacists and militia groups” and tell them to stand down, rather than add to the violence that has marred anti-racism protests in some US cities. Multiple senior federal officials, including at the FBI and Department of Homeland Security this month have warned that white supremacist groups pose a rising threat of violence in the United States. Also read: Takeaways from first US presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” Trump said, before immediately pivoting. Biden has often said he decided to run for president after white supremacists attacked counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 and Trump said there were “fine people on both sides.”While Trump has sought to distance himself from that comment, he has also been accused of downplaying the threat of white supremacists, even as his own administration has warned of the danger. Last week, Chad Wolf, the acting homeland security secretary, told a congressional hearing that white supremacists were the most persistent extremist threat in the country.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 30, 2020 03:11 UTC