With a shout-out to , US President Donald Trump has once again shown a readiness to court right wing extremists as he battles for re-election.
During a caustic debate Tuesday with election rival Joe Biden, Mr Trump lashed out at the Antifa movement and other participants in sometimes violent protests against police abuse and racism over the past several months.
Asked whether he would likewise condemn armed right-wing and white supremacist groups - specifically the Proud Boys, who have violently confronted leftist protesters in Portland, Oregon and elsewhere - Mr Trump at first said "sure" but then demurred.
"Almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing," Mr Trump said.
"Proud Boys, stand back and stand by," he continued. "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."
Mr Trump recanted Wednesday following an intense backlash, denying any knowledge of the Proud Boys and calling on right wing militias to "stand down" and let police "do their work."
“I don’t know who the Proud Boys are. I mean, you’ll have to give me a definition because I really don’t know who they are,” he said outside the White House. “I can only say they have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work.”
But his campaign will worry that the clean-up did little to mitigate the impression that Tuesday's rhetoric left on moderate, undecided voters.
His original comments were widely taken as an endorsement of the Proud Boys and other groups who, often heavily armed, have squared up to Black Lives Matter and Antifa activists around the country, as well as joining protests against public health measures for the coronavirus.
"Standing down and standing by sir," the group said in a social media posting.
"President Trump told the proud boys to stand by because someone needs to deal with ANTIFA...well sir! we're ready!!" said Joe Biggs, a Proud Boys organiser, wrote on Parler, the Twitter-like social media that does not block extremists.
Antifa, short for anti-fascist, is an umbrella term used to describe a broad far-left movement, .
Mr Trump's backpedalling came after multiple Republicans distanced themselves from the president's debate remark, with Senator Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the US Senate, saying Mr Trump "needs to correct" his comments.
Several other Republicans reportedly offered similar reaction, including powerful Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
'Cease and desist'
Mr Biden earlier on Wednesday branded Mr Trump's debate performance a "national embarrassment" for not addressing concerns of everyday Americans and failing to clearly denounce white supremacist groups.
"Maybe I should not say this, but the president of the United States conducted himself the way he did - I think it was a national embarrassment," Mr Biden said during a stop in Alliance, Ohio as part of a train tour through swing state Ohio and neighbouring battleground Pennsylvania.
Mr Biden assailed Mr Trump's remarks at the debate.
"My message to the Proud Boys and every other white supremacist group is: cease and desist," Mr Biden said.
"That's not who we are. This is not who we are as Americans."
The former vice president, appearing invigorated after what could be described as an assertive debate performance where he stood his ground, criticised Mr Trump for failing to speak directly to the American people about their plight during the COVID-19 crisis.
Joe Biden speaks at Amtrak's Pittsburgh Train Station, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020, in Pittsburgh. Source: AP
"Does your president have any idea or understand what you're going through? And if he does, does he care about you?" Mr Biden asked.
"Or does he just ignore you, look down on you, lie to you?"
Mr Trump's debate performance was "all about him," Mr Biden added. "He didn't speak to you or your concerns for the American people even once."
Meanwhile, the US Commission on Presidential Debates has said it will enact new measures to "maintain order" at upcoming events after the toxic Cleveland showdown.
"Last night's debate made clear that additional structure should be added to the format of the remaining (two) debates to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues," the CPD said in a statement.
The commission said it will soon announce measures "to ensure that additional tools to maintain order are in place for the remaining debates."
