Trump's 'stand by' remark eclipses post-debate spin

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Amidst the noise and insults of Tuesday night’s chaotic debate — one moment has since become a story of its own.

When asked if he would condemn white supremacists, Trump dodged the question.

CHRIS WALLACE: "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?"

DONALD TRUMP: "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."

WALLACE: "Then do it, sir.

BIDEN: "Say it. Do it. Say it."

TRUMP: "You want to call them - what do you want to call them? Give me a name, give me a name."

WALLACE: "White supremacists [CROSS-TALK] Proud Boys..."

TRUMP: "Proud Boys: Stand back and stand by, 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, this is a left-wing..."

According to media reports, at least one Proud Boy organizer, Joe Biggs, celebrated the group's mention on the social media platform Parler, saying: "President Trump told the Proud Boys to stand by because someone needs to deal with Antifa...well sir! we're ready!!”

The far-right, self-declared "Western chauvinist" Proud Boys, recently showed up armed to a rally in Portland to counter anti-racism protesters.

Antifa, which stands for anti-fascist, is a largely unstructured, far-left movement whose followers broadly aim to confront those they view as authoritarian or racist.

And multiple senior federal officials, including at the FBI and Department of Homeland Security this month, have warned that it’s white supremacist groups – not Antifa, that pose the biggest rising threat of violence in the United States.

Civil rights group The Southern Poverty Law Center classifies the Proud Boys as a hate group, citing its members' anti-Muslim and misogynist rhetoric.

Trump’s comments drew swift criticism.

Jonathan Greenblatt, the chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League, on Twitter called Trump's call to stand back and stand by "astonishing."

Trump’s opponent Joe 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 throughout his presidency, even as his own administration has warned of the danger.