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'Dilbert' creator Scott Adams says Trump lost his vote with Proud Boys answer, then backtracks after criticism

Adams has long been a Trump supporter. In fact, he has also defended Trump for his comments about the 2017 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville, Virginia

Scott Adams, the creator of the ‘Dilbert’ comic strip, on Wednesday, September 30, criticized President Donald Trump’s white supremacist answer during the presidential debate on Tuesday, saying, “He screwed me.”

Adams has long been a Trump supporter. In fact, he has also defended Trump for his comments about the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where one person died and several were injured as a result of a skirmish when white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups protesting the removal of a Confederate statue were met by counter-protesters. Adams has on many occasions argued that Trump did not call white supremacists in Charlottesville “very fine people”.

In fact, he has an episode on his podcast from March this year titled, ‘Public Demonstration of False Memory, Charlottesville 'Fine People' HOAX’. His argument suggests that Trump did not refer to neo-Nazis and the opposers, rather he referred to people who were “pro-statue and anti-statue.”

In the aftermath of the violence, when a reporter said, “The neo-Nazis started this. They showed up in Charlottesville to protest,” Trump cut in and said, “Excuse me, excuse me. They didn’t put themselves -- and you had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.”

Adams made remarks about Trump’s performance in the debate on his podcast, claiming that he felt abused and that he took Trump’s comments about the Proud Boys personally. “He botched it,” Adams said. “It was a layup. It was free money sitting on the f***ing table and he left it there, and he left me on that table, too. He left me just exposed. He lost my vote. Can he get it back? Yeah, all he’d have to do is fix that.”

During Tuesday’s debate, moderator Chris Wallace from Fox News asked Trump if he was willing to condemn “white supremacists and militia groups.” Trump said, “Sure I’m willing to do that, but I would say almost everything I see is from the left-wing, not from the right-wing… I’m willing to do anything. I want to see peace,” following which, he requested Wallace to “give me a name" of a specific white supremacist group. Democratic nominee Joe Biden cut in, suggesting Trump condemn the Proud Boys, prompting the president to say “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.” 

Adams said that he would have approved if Trump responded to criticism of his “some very fine people on both sides” Charlottesville comments by directing viewers to the transcript, in which he said Trump condemned white supremacist groups. “If he had said that, I would have said I’m really happy that I spent so much of my time and my personal credibility a great deal of money [on Trump],” said Adams. “I thought it’s so obvious what you should say in this situation and then he just didn’t,” he added. “And I thought to myself I really feel abused, honestly. I was actually -- I took it personally.”

Adams’ disappointment with Trump was harshly lambasted by critics of Trump. Journalist SV Date wrote, “I'm confused. Dilbert is mad because Trump is ... not racist enough? Or he should have said … Oh, never mind. His cartoon was never that funny. Calvin and Hobbes was way better.” Author Jonathan Katz noted, “Oh my God it's happening. Dilbert is starting to realize that his whole shtick about the ‘Charlottesville Hoax’ is built on a lie.”

One Twitter user said, “Am I the only one who watches this and thinks, ‘What a douchebag’? I mean, he took it personally? HE was the one injured here? WTF. And Trump could win back his vote if he forced himself to lie to the American people? F*** you, Dilbert dude.” Journalist Will Sommer said, “Dilbert creator Scott Adams has spent years telling people that Trump didn't say there were ‘very fine people’ in Charlottesville, and now he's furious that Trump can't hold up his part of the ruse. ‘I really feel abused...he screwed me personally!’”

Adams, reacting to the criticism, said on Twitter, “Today I learned that agreeing with Democrats and saying I won’t vote for Trump makes them hate me extra and threaten me. So I’ll be voting for Trump.”