On Tuesday night in Ohio,Short film Archives Donald Trump told white supremacists to “stand by.”
Then he told his followers to “go into the polls and watch carefully.”
There was a lot of noise in the first presidential debate of 2020. Trump lied. He was rude. Three old men yelled over each other. But if you're going to remember anything from this disaster, it's that the president of the United States refused to condemn white supremacy, and that he encouraged his followers to intimidate voters at the polls.
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This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.SEE ALSO: Everyone agrees the first Trump vs. Biden debate was a total disaster
White supremacists heard Trump loud and clear. You can parse his words, say he didn't literally tell people with arm bands and guns to intimidate voters — a tactic the Republican National Committee was sued for in 1981. But it would be a dire threat to democracy to not hold the president accountable for what he failed to do on live television.
He was asked to condemn white supremacists. He did not.
Debate host Chris Wallace asked both candidates to pledge that they would "not declare victory until the election has been independently certified." Joe Biden replied with a simple, "Yes." Trump did not.
This is not a hidden message. Watch the video clips. Democracy is at stake. You are responsible for what you do next.
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