‘I Disavow and Condemn Them’
President-elect Donald Trump, asked Tuesday afternoon by reporters at The New York Times, disavowed white supremacists and white nationalists who are trying to rebrand themselves as the “alt-right” movement, yet defended his senior advisor, Steve Bannon,.
Several reporters from the Times live-tweeted details of the Q&A session,
Trump did not bring up the issue, and later seemed surprised that it was such a hot topic, apparently choosing to appear to not understand that his appointment of Steve Bannon, the former head of Breitbart, has advocated for and even bragged about publishing a website that is “home” to the “alt-right.”
The Times‘ executive editor pressed the subject:
Some have called Bannon a white nationalist, a charge he denies. Breitbart has a section called “Black Crime,” and has pushed bigoted, anti-Semitic, misogynistic, himophobic, and racist viewpoints. Trump says Bannon is not a racist.
But this is how Trump describes Breitbart, the publication Bannon said he made into a home for the “alt-right”:
Trump claims Bannon is getting a lot of support, doesn’t say from who:
The president-elect again said he disavows the white nationalists and supremacists, but declined to explain why or go into much detail:
Trump refuses to accept that his platforms, comments, and actions throughout the campaign, before the campaign, and even since being elected have energized the white nationalists and white supremacists.
ThinkProgress’ editor Judd Legum made a point of calling out Trump’s disavowal:
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