During Tuesday night’s presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, the president was asked to denounce white supremacy.
Since then, numerous outlets have run headlines stating President Trump has “refused to denounce white supremacy.”
The question posed by moderator Chris Wallace was highly misleading in and of itself:
“You have repeatedly criticized the vice president for not specifically calling out antifa and other left-wing extremist groups,” Wallace said to Trump.
“But 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 in a number of these cities as we saw in Kenosha and as we’ve seen in Portland? Are you prepared to specifically do that?”
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“Sure, I’m prepared to do that,” Trump said, answering Wallace’s question in the words in which they were asked. “But I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing. If you look, I’m willing to do anything. I want to see peace.”
As Trump pointed out, Wallace asked the question in reference to the riots and looting from the left that have become prevalent following the many protests inspired by the Black Lives Matter Movement.
A DHS Report from June confirmed there’s no evidence that white supremacists have been responsible for violence at the riots.
Nonetheless, outlets continue to bash Trump for his alleged refusal to condemn white supremacy.
In reality, President Trump has condemned white supremacy, white nationalism, neo-Nazism and the KKK on multiple occasions.
1. “[T]hey should be condemned totally.”Establishment media outlets often try to nail Trump by claiming he called white supremacists at the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally in 2017 “very fine people.”
As it turns out, that quote is taken wildly out of context.
Only moments later, Trump clarified that he was not talking about the white supremacists or neo-Nazis present, but rather the protesters in Charlottesville who were opposed to the taking down of a statue of Robert E. Lee.
“You had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides,” Trump said. “You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of, to them, a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name.
“And you had people — and I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists — because they should be condemned totally. But you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists. OK? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly.”
When asked if he meant the media was treating white nationalists unfairly, Trump further clarified his statement.
“No, no. There were people in that rally — and I looked the night before — if you look, there were people protesting very quietly the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. I’m sure in that group there were some bad ones. The following day it looked like they had some rough, bad people — neo-Nazis, white nationalists, whatever you want to call them,” Trump explained.
2. “Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs.”
In another statement made after the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, President Donald Trump again denounced racism, white supremacy and the KKK.
“As I said on Saturday, we condemn, in the strongest possible terms, this egregious display of hatred, bigotry and violence. It has no place in America,” Trump said.
“Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs. Including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans.”
His stance on white supremacy could not have been any clearer.
3. “Racism is evil.”
Trump again condemned white supremacy during a 2017 speech in Phoenix, Arizona.
He began, however, by blasting mainstream media outlets for their dishonest coverage of his Charlottesville remarks.
“They don’t report the facts. Just like they don’t want to report that I spoke out forcefully against hatred, bigotry and violence and strongly condemned the neo-nazis, the white supremacists and the KKK,” Trump said as reported by KNOE-TV.
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“I openly called for unity, healing and love and they know it because they were all there.”
Then, the president went on to reiterate his stance on racism and white supremacy.
“Racism is evil. … No matter our color, creed, religion or political party, we are all Americans first. We love our country. We love our God. And we love our flag,” the president said.
“We must love each other,” Trump said, “show affection for each other, and unite together in condemnation of hatred, bigotry and violence.”
4. “In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy.”
In August of 2019, President Trump gave a White House speech addressing the mass shootings that had recently occurred in both El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.
In addressing the shootings, Trump again made it clear that he fully condemns white supremacy and racism.
“The shooter in El Paso posted a manifesto online consumed by racist hate. In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy. These sinister ideologies must be defeated,” Trump said, according to a White House transcript.
“Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart, and devours the soul. We have asked the FBI to identify all further resources they need to investigate and disrupt hate crimes and domestic terrorism — whatever they need.”
Despite these clear statements from the president, the media continues to spread lies about him, claiming he refuses to condemn white supremacy.
Clearly, President Trump has vehemently condemned radicalism on the fringes of the right. Now it’s the Democrats’ turn to condemn the radicals and racists on the left.
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