Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) said Wednesday that President Donald Trump should make an effort to amend remarks he made during the first presidential debate on Tuesday where he told a far-right hate group to “stand by.”
“I think he misspoke,” Scott, who is the only Black Republican in the Senate, told reporters. “I think he should correct it. If he doesn’t correct it, I guess he didn’t misspeak.”
Reporter: “Do you find that concerning, the president's refusal last night during the debate to condemn white supremacist groups?"
Sen. Tim Scott: “I think he misspoke. I think he should correct it. If he doesn't correct it, I guess he didn't misspeak." pic.twitter.com/qxDTrg7ulT
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 30, 2020
The comments come after Trump’s call for members of the Proud Boys elicited cheers from group members, who, according to The New York Times, were posting in private social media channels, lauding Trump’s words as “historic.”
Vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris further suggested that Trump’s rhetoric on race during Tuesday’s debate served as a “dog whistle through a bullhorn” to white supremacist groups.
National Press Secretary for the Trump campaign attempted to clean up the remarks in a separate CNN interview on Wednesday saying that the President was really telling the Proud Boys to “get out of the way.” Gidley then asked how many times President Trump needed to condemn white supremacy — which the campaign official claimed Trump has done “multiple times in the past.”
“I don’t know how many ways you want him to say it, and how many times you want him to say it,” Gidley said.
“New Day” anchor John Berman pushed back, asserting that there was “no limit on the amount of times you can condemn white supremacists.”
“They’re just that bad. It’s just that worth it to do it,” Berman said, adding: “for some reason he wasn’t willing to.”
