Trump won’t renounce the Proud Boys

He didn’t during the debate and gave a half-hearted attempt today after he was widely criticized. Trump is a white supremacist and he doesn’t want to alienate his cult.

NEW—

Doral confab featured Proud Boys leader

Two weeks after @realdonaldtrump told the hate group to "stand by," its head praised the president before his customers.https://t.co/5fIGHoPzkC
— 1100 Pennsylvania (@1100Penn) October 13, 2020

NEW: Trump tried to walk back his refusal to outright condemn a far right facist group during his debate with Biden, but the inflammatory moment was far from the first time the president failed to denounce white supremacists or advanced racist ideas https://t.co/7WSUIg1Sj6
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) September 30, 2020

Over and over, Trump has made clear that he doesn't care about the threat white supremacy poses to the country, and that isn't going to change.https://t.co/hxp1FBuusY
— Philip Bump (@pbump) September 30, 2020

Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs saw Trump’s remarks at last night's debate as permission to “fuck” up the group’s foes.

On no planet is this good.https://t.co/Gw8tBmTHt3
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 30, 2020

Trump to reporters at the White House today: "I don’t know who the Proud Boys are" He added: "Whoever they are they have to stand down. Let law enforcement do their work…Antifa is a real problem because the problem is on the left" via @dsupervilleap
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) September 30, 2020

I think Trump is lying, I think he knows who the Proud Boys are.

The idea that this genie gets put back in the bottle is quite something, but this will be what his aides point to for the Tim Scotts who say he needed to clarify https://t.co/wxdcgsbqwP
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) September 30, 2020

NEW with @ChristopherJM: The Proud Boys got a bunch of new followers after Trump said to "stand by." Some of the Telegram channels we monitor saw an influx of 600-700 people.

More:https://t.co/T4t3lzTy1y
— Jane Lytvynenko (@JaneLytv) September 30, 2020

Trump tries to backtrack on his remark about the Proud Boys, but the far-right group is already celebrating his comments @elspethreeve reports pic.twitter.com/8nN6KUVuNn
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) September 30, 2020

“This is the best recruiting tool that they could have ever asked for,” @oneunderscore__ says of the Proud Boys, discussing Pres. Trump’s debate callout of the far-right extremist group. “They’ve made t-shirts that say ‘stand back and stand by.'”https://t.co/o4voSfFvnj
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 30, 2020

"Just so you understand, I don't know anything about David Duke, OK? I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists." — Trump, February 2016 https://t.co/zp3r0oFWlK
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) September 30, 2020

Breaking: Trump says he does not know who the Proud Boys are, but they should stand down and let law enforcement do its work. (This is a shift in language from last night.) pic.twitter.com/7G1cyHbMuO
— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) September 30, 2020

This is the group that Trump is waiting to deploy.

It also is amazing to me that Trump is using hypothetical scenarios and boogeymen to scare white people into voting people and black people face tangible, real threats all the time. If anyone should be scared, it’s us. https://t.co/EpNfyT3BGx
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) September 30, 2020

Within 60 minutes the neofascist White Supremacist Proud Boys — a biker gang without the bikes — had new shoulder patches designed with Trump’s words “Stand Back and Stand By.” Just as Trump intended.
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) September 30, 2020

I think this is the bottom line here https://t.co/Pt8q2v6llv
— josie duffy rice (is on leave) (@jduffyrice) September 30, 2020

President Trump hesitated to condemn white supremacists during repeated questioning during the debate, telling the far-right Proud Boys group to "stand back and stand by."

Here's the background:
https://t.co/dKF54aEPxK #Debates2020 pic.twitter.com/QdjFADGKKZ
— PolitiFact (@PolitiFact) September 30, 2020

Donald Trump has a loooooooong history of refusing to condemn white supremacist and hate groupshttps://t.co/Ib4ZgVatJJ pic.twitter.com/rM3X6Sw2ZI
— Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) September 30, 2020

Proud Boys celebrate Trump’s ‘stand by’ remark about them at the debate. – The New York Times https://t.co/zJ3U3Zo1eG
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) September 30, 2020

Trump is now their leader. Wow. https://t.co/WPW2xueyz5
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) September 30, 2020

CNN anchor Jake Tapper booted Trump’s campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh after the Trump flack continued to deflect when pressed on the president’s refusal to condemn white supremacists https://t.co/UWz6HvtNid
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 30, 2020

It appears that Gavin McInnes, founder of the Proud Boys, is here at Walter Reed Medical Center— supporters on site starting chanting “Gavin! Gavin!” as he arrived. Trump’s shoutout to the group during the debate bolstered the Proud Boys: https://t.co/gGx7QdtCQM pic.twitter.com/vtamSSPQzR
— DJ Judd (@DJJudd) October 3, 2020

Lindsey Graham photographed with leader of white nationalist group Proud Boys https://t.co/Hl5CfxGzUd via @Yahoo
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) October 3, 2020

Covers: Riot in Cell Block Number 9/Student Demonstration Time

“Riot in Cell Block Number 9” was a Leiber-Stoller song recorded by the Robins in 1954. The Beach Boys used the same tune with updated lyrics for “Student Demonstration Time” in 1971.

TV networks gave Trump 2 billion dollars in free airtime in 2016

I don’t see how this year is any different. I blame the media for helping Trump spread his lies and bigotry.

TV networks gave Trump TWO BILLION DOLLARS in free airtime during the 2016 election precisely because he would say the insane nonsense like he said at the debate.

They created the monster for ratings assuming he would lose to Hillary, only to end up assisting his victory. pic.twitter.com/SEv6032We1
— Josh Jordan (@NumbersMuncher) September 30, 2020

The covid recession hit low-wage workers 8x harder than high-wage workers

NEW: The covid recession hit low-wage workers 8x harder than high-wage workers. We've never seen anything like that before.

This is the most unequal recession in modern US history — by far.https://t.co/ECT6E8xLQd w/ the great @andrewvandam & @alyssafowers #jobs #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/DA5BUxqhLT
— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) September 30, 2020

Ross will defy judge’s order on the census

Law and order only applies when they like it.

Republicans perceive so much political advantage to deliberately screwing up the census that they are willing to create an executive branch nullification precedent at a time when they control the judiciary but are on the verge of losing the presidency. https://t.co/8S5z7kvCzS
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) September 29, 2020

Absorb this news and ask yourself if the “guardrails” are working: https://t.co/AzvgV9GbvT
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) September 28, 2020

New: internal #2020census documents show the agency chose the Oct. 5 deadline that would allow it to deliver census results by the end of the year — a deadline Judge Lucy Koh said last week likely violated administrative law. More coming in @CQnow
— Michael Macagnone (@mikemacagnone) September 29, 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — Commerce secretary says 2020 U.S. census will end Oct. 5, despite judge ordering it to continue to end of October
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) September 28, 2020

Barrett’s current seat is stolen

Did you know Amy Coney Barrett is sitting in a stolen judicial seat right now? In May 2017, Trump nominated Barrett to IN seat on Seventh Circuit, which covers Indiana, Illinois & Wisconsin. This is same seat to which President Obama nominated Myra Selby, a Black woman, in 2016.
— Leslie Proll (@LeslieProll) September 26, 2020

This👇🏽happened. https://t.co/NrRQGEt9ka
— silverprincess💛 (@marsha_vivinate) October 11, 2020

Here's a good illustration of how Republicans abused Senate rules to hurt Obama — the same rules McConnell wants to blow up now to help Republicans. They delayed votes on Obama's picks for ages and then voted for them in the end. Sometimes unanimously. https://t.co/dIEwmDTQo2 pic.twitter.com/JuS5vIlPGw
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) April 3, 2019

Republicans Block President Obama Appellate Judges https://t.co/ftGgA9XnyZ #Scalia #Scotus
— bennydiego✯ (@bennydiego) February 16, 2016

Republicans certainly enjoyed using blue slips to block Obama's judges. Interesting timing for a push on this. https://t.co/VaBEF34HjO
— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) September 13, 2017

#Republican McConnell: Democrats should NOT be able to BLOCK Judges the way #Republicans BLOCKED @POTUS44 Obama https://t.co/RmiXUGLgRF pic.twitter.com/LXbcAuM4RQ
— VonVictor V. Rosenchild (@Rosenchild) September 14, 2017

More on Barr’s bad actions

Proud to have signed this new letter warning Attorney General Barr not to exploit DOJ's powers to interfere in the election alongside @JoyceWhiteVance @Mimirocah1 @eliehonig & over 1500 more former DOJ lawyers. https://t.co/UmtJjRW65Z
— Joshua A. Geltzer (@jgeltzer) October 1, 2020

Barr's Justice Department serves up talking points for Trump https://t.co/L86BIwlwP9 pic.twitter.com/VMEtd4QKO8
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) September 29, 2020

There is a strong case for impeaching Bill Barr. We lay it out here: https://t.co/KaXUF5djXt
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) September 29, 2020

"Barr is a deeply corrupt institutionalist, and that's not a contradiction in terms. Every time he is in office he has worked to cover GOP crimes. People get so caught up in the image and the title that they ignore actual criminality." — @gaslitnation https://t.co/CRaFvxfsOd
— Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior) February 19, 2020

Wow: AG Bill Barr has reportedly intervened directly in D.C. on arrests of protesters accused of rioting. He overruled the U.S. Attorney for D.C., who said ⁦@DCPoliceDept⁩ provided no evidence to justify charges in most cases. https://t.co/azbBv6jeYq
— Martin Austermuhle (@maustermuhle) September 26, 2020

Facebook helps people spread lies and conspiracy theories

They don’t do enough to stop this.

New from me: The viral earpiece conspiracy theory was pushed by coordinated Facebook accounts at the same second this morning.

Then Fox News picked it up. Then, the Trump campaign sent it to your phone.https://t.co/rVXf7BRJrL pic.twitter.com/VoN07IuwC6
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) September 29, 2020

Zuckerberg seems to have put a lot of chips on Trump winning & has not feared to antagonize Democrats (not to mention many of his own employees) in the process. Remember when Sandberg was an icon for Dem women? Seems like another epoch. Their bet may come due if Trump loses https://t.co/qvu1y95dnI
— Ronald Brownstein (@RonBrownstein) September 29, 2020

Nightmare scenario: Facebook's group recommendation function keeps steering people into radical online groups amplifying Trump's claims of a stolen election. A liberal coalition is now calling on Facebook to turn that algorithm off. @paulwaldman1 and me:https://t.co/FFA1xD11QL
— Greg Sargent (@ThePlumLineGS) September 29, 2020

Facebook SAID they would enforce their prohibition on misinformation about voting methods against Trump.

Instead they are doing this.

Which is actually worse than doing nothing, IMO. pic.twitter.com/FVy3FiajLL
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) September 28, 2020

Twitter's approach clearly superior here. https://t.co/DTYXxaTPgv
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) September 28, 2020

it is astounding how low the bar is and how much facebook is botching this https://t.co/603IH6ulHO
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) September 28, 2020

I’m not sure anyone argues the algorithm “favors conservatives.” But perhaps the fact that the algorithm rewards outrage content (often built on dishonest premises) is a problem! https://t.co/Z21B3KZ60q pic.twitter.com/YGUpnw39Vm
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) September 26, 2020

NEW: Why are right-wing FB pages so popular?

A Facebook exec argues the msg is just more visceral: "Right wing populism is always more engaging…Nation, protection, the other, anger, fear. That was there in the 30s. That's not invented by social media"https://t.co/RpC8sldXsx
— Alex Thompson (@AlxThomp) September 26, 2020

The Russian operation used Facebook to find and recruit authentic, unwitting people to help hype their propaganda, many of them journalists https://t.co/qToaMpPf0p
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 25, 2020

smart segment by Donie. Think it shows that this isn't an issue of media literacy, really. don't think it's that he's duped in the traditional sense especially bc he certainly doesn't care if he was. there's something deeper based in identity & constructing reality to preserve it https://t.co/axv6ZjGvY4
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) September 24, 2020

THIS. THIS IS WHY WE FROZE OUR ACCOUNTS! This is why we want Mark Zuckerberg to sit with the civil rights groups who are offering to help fix this crisis! This platform is contributing to the destruction of our democracy. https://t.co/h02OSALERL
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) September 24, 2020

Facebook is exponentially more important to Donald Trump than Russia and Russia couldn’t boost Donald Trump without unregulated platforms like Facebook.
— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) September 24, 2020

The top-performing link posts by U.S. Facebook pages in the last 24 hours are from:

1. Franklin Graham
2. Ben Shapiro
3. Ben Shapiro
4. Delish
5. Ben Shapiro
6. Breitbart
7. Dan Bongino
8. Sean Hannity
9. David J. Harris Jr.
10. Donald Trump For President
— Facebook's Top 10 (@FacebooksTop10) September 22, 2020

there's no question that certain kinds of right wing content perform very well on Facebook, but top items on a list != what most people see. sigh. https://t.co/VIXEUpUX1q
— Brendan Nyhan (@BrendanNyhan) September 17, 2020

Spending time in FB election groups, it is all Trump all the time. Will be interesting come Election Day to see how much this reflects either reality or the political capture of Facebook. Increasingly it seems that moderates/ liberals just don’t use it at all ….
— emily bell (@emilybell) September 15, 2020

Yet another devastating story about Facebook. Huge kudos to Sophie Zhang, an employee who turned down $64k severance to tell the truth.

The speed & scale of the damage Facebook is doing to democracies around the world is truly terrifying https://t.co/84UJFulnDQ
— Carole Cadwalladr (@carolecadwalla) September 14, 2020

On Facebook, the community has no fucking standards. None. To pretend otherwise is as much of an offense as the content that the shithole platform tolerates. https://t.co/trLz3fVMZ0
— David Simon (@AoDespair) September 13, 2020

nEUtraL PLatFOrm https://t.co/A7DV9h6a8s
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) September 12, 2020

ICYMI: Our analysis found that Facebook magnifies traffic for prominent right-wing news sources https://t.co/rLyi2eIEZl pic.twitter.com/GCqvTFU6Hr
— G. Elliott Morris (@gelliottmorris) September 11, 2020

Facebook announced a sweeping action to block new political ads from appearing on its site in the week before Election Day. But it likely will not be very effective in minimizing voter misinformation. https://t.co/UVpsDP5RSm
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) September 6, 2020

Facebook in effect "both sidesing" the behavior of politicians on its platform with this pre-election ban. https://t.co/Vk0KmwfAqE
— Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) September 3, 2020

Nancy Pelosi's haircut is by far the biggest story on Facebook right now. 13 of the top 25 top-performing link posts on US Facebook in the last 24 hours (and 4 of the top 5) are about it.
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) September 2, 2020

Diamond and Silk got tagged as a "repeat offender" by Facebook earlier this year for sharing misinformation. They complained, and someone in Facebook leadership intervened and removed the strikes on their account.

Today, they have the top-performing link post by a U.S. page. https://t.co/Unxl6kdQbq
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) September 1, 2020

QAnon conspiracy theories about the debate and other things

Important news: https://t.co/RStAYZHb1o
— Joy JUST VOTE & MASK UP!! Reid 😷) (@JoyAnnReid) October 6, 2020

Update: This page has now been taken down. But there was violent language in the comments that violated the company's existing policy. Unclear why it stayed up so long. https://t.co/LZZoo3KAYg
— Isaac Stanley-Becker (@isaacstanbecker) October 6, 2020

The House passed a bipartisan resolution today that condemns QAnon, the far-right, online conspiracy movement that promotes baseless theories about the U.S. government. https://t.co/nxjK9K20JQ
— Axios (@axios) October 2, 2020

17 Republicans just voted against a resolution to condemn QAnon. We asked them all why. https://t.co/tM95d5BocL
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) October 3, 2020

There has been an explosion of political disinformation ahead of tonight's debate. This garbage can be traced back to QAnon posts and well-known conspiracy theorists. Yet these lies are spreading like crazy on Facebook right now — and are finding a home with right-wing outlets.
— Marshall Cohen (@MarshallCohen) September 29, 2020

Q posted the earpiece conspiracy theory around 11:40 this morning.

QAnon is turning into an aggregator for standard right-wing talking points, part of their new "camouflage" strategy to decouple conspiracy theories from Q.

Hope you all like close-up pictures of a guy's ears. pic.twitter.com/nupZSwpC9Z
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) September 29, 2020

REMINDER: Breitbart is considered by Facebook to be a "trusted news source" and is, therefore, included in the Facebook news tab

Here is a Breitbart article about tonight's debate based on the latest QAnon conspiracy theory

It's been shared 3K times on Facebook in one hour pic.twitter.com/0JyPnkSJYm
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) September 29, 2020

An Oklahoma man who repeatedly posted the QAnon-linked slogan #SaveOurChildren on his Facebook page has been charged with murdering his girlfriend’s infant daughter https://t.co/uuDl6YLPPx
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 29, 2020

Really interesting post on a QAnon help subreddit by someone whose mom started questioning it after watching the Social Dilemma on Netflix pic.twitter.com/lmUQxJqFTa
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) September 28, 2020

The manufacturer of the "taser shields" used a QAnon slogan on their company feed. I feel like I'm seeing everything fold into a common agenda, and it's not a great one. https://t.co/p1kvnS5dnp
— QAA Podcast 🌹 (@QanonAnonymous) September 26, 2020

QAnon is being told all day every day that the great event is coming soon, has already begun, or will happen today. It never happens, and nobody acknowledges that it never happens. They just keep telling you it's about to happen. It must be exhausting. pic.twitter.com/L9QEH5gPgL
— Mike Rothschild (@rothschildmd) September 25, 2020

The terrifying story of how QAnon infiltrated moms' groups https://t.co/QRUSCgkMxq
— Mother Jones (@MotherJones) September 25, 2020

Absolutely wild interview in the last ten mins of this Americast. Erin Cruz, Republican candidate in California, describes Qanon as an "information source", won't disavow, and squirms when asked whether there is "evidence of a satanic cabal of pedophiles"https://t.co/mhkfp1q81p
— PhysicsPodcast.com (@physicspod) September 23, 2020

QAnon's growth mirrors sharp spike in far-right extremist violence in US: Experts https://t.co/rmID4qUPMs pic.twitter.com/Zt0oMItPLB
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) September 23, 2020

The QAnon conspiracy theory "has the best attributes of a multiplatform game, except that it can cause harm in the real world," @pomeranian99 writes https://t.co/SmPOYSfuQ0
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 23, 2020

Pro-Trump cable channel One America News is selling custom QAnon emojis, including one that claims JFK Jr. is still alive. https://t.co/v7EhZ00iKD
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) September 23, 2020

The claim: Dr. Anthony Fauci was arrested for COVID-19 conspiracy, as reported by USA TODAY.

Our rating: False https://t.co/tI4HpIdYor
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) September 23, 2020

The GOP's QAnon strategy: NRCC runs attack ads portraying Democrats as protectors of pedophiles: https://t.co/OzoSskWGn9
— Michael Isikoff (@Isikoff) September 23, 2020

in small towns across the country this summer, some police have been getting into qanon. i wrote about it, its obvious harms and how police have a history of getting into conspiracy theories https://t.co/Gjj48c2HFX
— Ali Breland (@alibreland) September 28, 2020

I wrote about how "Save the Children" saved QAnon, by helping it evade bans, creating a new sidequest for hardcore followers, and building an on-ramp for normies and yoga moms. https://t.co/jwI2Sfzv9M
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) September 28, 2020

It appears that WWE referee Drake Wuertz and WWE wrestler-turned-mayor of Longwood, Florida, Matt Morgan have been coordinating to raise money for a QAnon-adjacent anti-child trafficking charity on company and city time. https://t.co/tKqKl72FJs
— VICE (@VICE) September 29, 2020

I'm troubled by the candidacy of @BurgessOwens who continues to associate with far-right conspiracy extremists. There should be no place in Utah, or in Congress, for his unethical, divisive leadership. A cross-partisan coalition of Utahns should reject him.https://t.co/AXXBUKkvG8
— Evan McMullin (@EvanMcMullin) September 29, 2020

Another example of QAnon-style language seeping into the GOP: Rush Limbaugh claimed today that Biden is controlled by a shadowy "cabal" pic.twitter.com/roGlrh1Gzt
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) September 29, 2020

Trump wanted to steer wall contract

In the 60 Minutes segment last night on Fisher: Trump "exploded into a tirade" when the company wasn't picked for a border wall award. Since then Fisher has landed three contracts worth $2 billion https://t.co/r28tckFpkL
— Nick Miroff (@NickMiroff) September 28, 2020

‘Take the land’: President Trump wants a border wall. He wants it black. And he wants it by Election Day.

GOP senator held up Trump nominee, demanding to see border wall contracts after Army Corps panned construction firm he prefers

Over the past 20 years, Fisher Sand and Gravel has been cited 16 times for environmental violations and paid penalties in excess of $450K. Seven times the company been fined for workplace safety infractions.
— Andy Mosley (@andymosley46) September 28, 2020

Isn't Tommy Fisher of Fisher Sand and Gravel also involved in the shady We Build the Wall non profit for which Bannon was indicted? pic.twitter.com/RC2DMeBvaA
— Kiyomizu. Flatten The Damned Curve. (@1971Kiyomizu) September 28, 2020

"Fisher Sand and Gravel has a checkered past. In 2009, the company admitted to tax fraud. They've racked up thousands of environmental and safety violations in six states, and almost $2 million in fines."
— Andrew Chung (@andrew_chung_) September 28, 2020