First Presidential Debate 2020: Trump dubbed ‘embarrassment’ for telling White supremacists ‘Proud Boys, stand by’
The 2020 United States presidential debate between President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival Joe Biden kicked off with explosive arguments on a number of topics moderated by Chris Wallace. Sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates, the first debate between the presidential candidates was held on September 29 in Cleveland.
During the debate, Trump was asked by the moderator: "Are you willing to condemn White supremacists and militia groups?" For a long time, he didn't straightaway answer the question. "I would say almost everything I see is from the left-wing, not the right-wing," Trump responded. "I'm willing to do anything. I want to see peace."
When pressed further, Trump said, "What do you want to call them? Give me a name. Give me a name?" Finally, he said, "Proud Boys — Stand back, stand by, but I'll tell you what, somebody's got to do something about Antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem... This is a left-wing problem." Well, that wasn't exactly a condemnation.
Soon, it transpired into a barrage of slams on Twitter. "The President of the United States could not bring himself to condemn white supremacy," one tweet read and another said, "Trump’s previous refusals to disavow white supremacy are among the few times his numbers have really taken a hit." One Twitter user posted a clip and wrote: "Refusing to denounce white supremacy, @realDonaldTrump says: 'Proud Boys, stand back and stand by'."
The President of the United States could not bring himself to condemn white supremacy.
— G O L D I E. (@goldietaylor) September 30, 2020
Trump’s previous refusals to disavow white supremacy are among the few times his numbers have really taken a hit. https://t.co/uWGMt5l9a2
— Ashley Parker (@AshleyRParker) September 30, 2020
Refusing to denounce white supremacy, @realDonaldTrump says: "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by." pic.twitter.com/mYHJIyVN4B
— Alli Hedges Maser (@AllisonLHedges) September 30, 2020
"This is not a new thing btw. This man has ALWAYS been reluctant to condemn white supremacy when asked," one tweet read and another said, "Trump had multiple chances to say he disowned white supremacy. He refused. Donald Trump fans the flame of white supremacy and racism. It’s his only political strategy. #VoteBidenHarris2020." Another tweet read: "The fact that Chris Wallace didn’t follow up on Trump’s “Proud Boys stand by” call to violence. He’s an embarrassment. This debate is a joke."
This is not a new thing btw. This man has ALWAYS been reluctant to condemn white supremacy when asked. https://t.co/wCqbjpDSur
— Blessing Adeoye Jr. (@BlessingJr) September 30, 2020
Trump had multiple chances to say he disowned white supremacy. He refused. Donald Trump fans the flame of white supremacy and racism. It’s his only political strategy. #VoteBidenHarris2020 https://t.co/hON9161ZEW
— WomenForBidenHarris (@Women4Biden) September 30, 2020
The fact that Chris Wallace didn’t follow up on Trump’s “Proud Boys stand by” call to violence. He’s an embarrassment. This debate is a joke.
— Ira Madison III (@ira) September 30, 2020
The two presidential candidates spoke on the following topics: 'The Trump and Biden Records', 'The Supreme Court', 'Covid-19', 'The Economy', 'Race and Violence in our Cities' and 'The Integrity of the Election'. Each segment lasted about 15 minutes after the moderator opened with a question.
Set for 9 pm ET, the 90-minute debate was televised on channels including CNN, Fox News, CBS, ABC, C-SPAN, NBC and MSNBC without any commercial breaks.