House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is criticizing President Donald Trump for enabling the far-right group the Proud Boys during the Tuesday night’s presidential debate.
During her press briefing on Thursday, Pelosi detailed her own experience with the Proud Boys and accused Trump of giving them the go-ahead during his debate remarks.
“Speaking of violence, the Proud Boys, the president’s friends you know the Proud Boys, who are celebrating the green light that he gave them in the debate,” Pelosi said.
Pelosi mentioned she was in Florida for a congressional race where the Proud Boys made an appearance in 2018.
During a volunteer meeting, the Proud Boys “pounded the doors” and “scared” those who were attending, as Pelosi said.
Watch her comments below:
Nancy Pelosi calls the Proud Boys "the president's friends" and says he gave them "the green light" in his debate remarks https://t.co/Nj065CIsxp pic.twitter.com/cf5kVQOFwx
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 1, 2020
“They were tasked by the Florida Republican Party to come and disrupt that meeting, which they did in a violent way,” Pelosi said.
She added, “So, in case the president doesn’t remember that, he could call his friend Governor DeSantis who was part of that thing.”
According to the Anti-Defamation League, the Proud Boys “represent an unconventional strain of American right-wing extremism.”
Pelosi made it clear she was troubled by Trump’s failure to outright condemn white supremacy and extremist groups during the debate, as IJR previously reported.
“I lost a lot of sleep last night over that one fact,” Pelosi said.
When moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump if he would be willing to tell them to “stand down” Trump said, “Sure.”
He continued on, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left. Because this is not a right-wing problem.”
Trump received significant backlash for his comments.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended Trump’s record of condemning white supremacy during her press briefing on Thursday, as IJR previously reported.
She told a reporter during a heated exchange Trump’s record is not “mixed in the slightest.”
