Donald Trump Denies Knowing About Proud Boys After Telling Them to 'Stand Down and Stand By'

President Donald Trump denied knowing who the Proud Boys are on Wednesday, hours after telling them to "stand back and stand by" in a debate. The president was asked to simply denounce white supremacist groups like the Proud Boys on Tuesday night but instead tried to deflect the conversation to "AntiFa" — anti-fascist groups. When the comment emerged as one of the main sources of backlash the next day, Trump claimed he did not know who the Proud Boys are.

"I don't know who the Proud Boys are. I mean, you'll have to give me a definition," Trump told reporters on Wednesday in a now-viral video. "Cause I really don't know who they are. I can only say they have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work. Law enforcement will do the work." He later added: "But again, I don't know who Proud Boys are. But whoever they are they have to stand down, let law enforcement do their work."

Some viewers thought that Trump had been the one to bring up the Proud Boys at the debate on Tuesday night, though that wasn't accurate. It was difficult to hear through Trump talking over his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden and the moderator, Chris Wallace, but Wallace was actually the one to say that name first. Still, Trump seemed to recognize it in the moment.

Many also say that Trump should know who the Proud Boys are, since they are considered a real threat within the United States. The FBI identified them as an "extremist group" with a white nationalist ideology, and the Southern Poverty Law Center featured them in a "Hatewatch" post in 2017. They have been linked to many incidents of violence at protests over the last four years, and they openly support Trump.

Many viewers also related Trump's denial about the Proud Boys to other times when he seemed to "plead the fifth." In 2016, for example, he claimed not to know who David Duke was — the former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Duke endorsed Trump's presidential candidacy at the time, and Trump was hesitant to turn him down.

Some viewers noted that Trump did use the phrase "stand down" on Wednesday, though he refused to use it on Tuesday night. However, that did little to repair his reputation for racism. Here is a look at how Twitter responded to Trump's Proud Boy denial on Wednesday.