Dog whistle heard loud and clear.
After President Donald Trump failed to condemn white supremacists during Tuesday night’s debate, violent alt-right groups have already begun hocking merchandise based on his comments. The Proud Boys — a sexist, homophobic, Islamophobic, anti-immigrant wannabe militia group — almost immediately began selling a t-shirt with the phrase “Stand Back, Stand By” on the apparel website Teespring.com, according to the Miami Herald. The shirt also includes the group’s logo.
The progressive activism organization Sleeping Giants alleged in a tweet that “Stand Back, Stand By” shirts, hoodies, and sleeveless shirts are being sold on Amazon, but them. could not independently verify that claim. A link to a purported shirt returned a 404 from the online retail giant.
Sleeping Giants claimed that other Proud Boys shirts had been removed by Amazon.
The phrase refers to a moment during the debate when Trump was asked to censure the racist, neo-Nazi groups which have largely been supportive of his presidency and could not bring himself to do so. When Joe Biden offered the name of the Proud Boys as a group the president could potentially speak out against, many viewed his four-word reply as encouragement of armed groups who attack Black Lives Matter protesters.
Trump did nothing to quell that speculation on stage. “I tell you what, somebody has got to do something about antifa and the left,” he said, “because this is not a right-wing problem, this is a left-wing problem.”
And if critics felt Trump’s words were a subtle wink-and-nod to his most fringe supporters, they certainly interpreted it that way. Screenshots from a private Telegram group populated by Proud Boys members showed them celebrating what they saw as a positive acknowledgment from the POTUS.
“Standing down and standing by sir,” one member allegedly wrote.
On the conservative social media network Parler, members of the Proud Boys went even further, reading the remarks as a direct incitement to violence. “Trump basically said to go f*** them up!” claimed one of its most prominent leaders in a screenshot posted by New York Times journalist Mike Baker. “This makes me so happy.”
After a chaotic evening described as a “train wreck” and a “shitshow” by pundits, TrumpWorld had a difficult time on Wednesday justifying the president’s conduct. His campaign spokesman, Hogan Gidley, insisted the incumbent had condemned the Proud Boys, telling CNN that Trump “said ‘sure’ three times.” Trump advisor Peter Navarro blamed the gaffe on moderator Chris Wallace, accusing him of bias.
Senator Tim Scott, who gave the keynote address at this year’s Republican National Convention, countered that the president simply “misspoke” when he did not distance himself from the Proud Boys more directly.
“I think he should correct it,” Scott told reporters. “If he doesn’t correct it, I guess he didn’t misspeak.”
The Proud Boys have been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and “extremist” organization by the Federal Bureau of Investigations. The Proud Boys were responsible for the brutal beating of Timothy Ledwith, a 34-year-old gay man who was assaulted by an 80-person mob in 2018. Ten of its members were charged following the attack and two were sentenced to prison last year.
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