ALLIANCE, Ohio (KXAN/CNN) — Joe Biden is responding to Pres. Donald Trump’s seeming refusal to disavow white supremacists during Tuesday’s Presidential Debate.
During the debate, moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump whether he’d condemn white supremacists and tell them to “stand down” during racially volatile demonstrations across the country.
While Trump responded to Wallace that he was willing to tell them to stand down, Wallace appeared unsatisfied with Trump’s answer, urging him to “Say it. Do it. Say it.”
“Who would like me to condemn?” Trump asked.
“White supremacists,” said Wallace. Biden meanwhile, could be heard saying, “Proud Boys.”
Trump responded: “Proud Boys — stand back and stand by,” Trump said. “But I’ll tell you what. I’ll tell you what. Somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left because this is not a right wing problem.”
On Wednesday morning, Joe Biden was asked by reporters about Trump’s comments and the Proud Boys’ celebration of the President’s remarks, saying:
“Cease and desist. Cease and desist. The American people will decide who the next president of the United States will be. Period. So I’m urging the American people to go out and vote. Show up… I promise you: if we win this election, the President will step down. It’s a lot of bravado. He has no alternative. The American people will not stand for it.”
Who are the Proud Boys?
The Proud Boys are an all-male far-right group that’s been called “extremist” by the Anti-Defamation League and considered a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The group was founded in 2016 by Gavin McInnes and is known for anti-Muslim and disparagement of “apology culture,” CNN says.
On Wednesday morning, Trump campaign spokesperson Hogan Gidley told CNN’s John Berman that Trump did condemn the Proud Boys, saying, “He wants them to not do the things they say they want to do.”