That’s what Donald Trump said, speaking directly to violent white supremacist groups like the Proud Boys, when asked if he would denounce them at the debate.
This wasn’t a denunciation. It wasn’t a condemnation. It was a recognition, and a call for the Proud Boys—and any number of racist man-child vigilante cosplayers just like them—to be at-the-ready.
Let me just tell you who the Proud Boys are and what this means. This is a militant group of white supremacists, and one of the most prominent domestic terrorist threats—and they’re now using Donald Trump’s words as their slogan.
In a night that Donald Trump also called for his supporters to intimidate voters at the polls, this brief moment of the “debate” was the most alarmingand disgraceful.