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Antifa is a candy and a breath mint. I know because you’re soaking in a floor wax and a dessert topping.

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Trump’s shout out to the Proud Boys did ensure that their efforts in Portland would get a boost. They are an actual organization with actual membership and overlaps with groups going back to the Unite the Right event in Charlottesville. Twitter now features a disinformation campaign to disassociate members like Alan Swinney, arrested today on numerous violence charges.

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— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 30, 2020

Far-right groups celebrated on social media after President Trump responded to a debate question about white supremacists by saying that the extremist Proud Boys, a male-only group known for its penchant for street violence, should “stand back and stand by.”

The far-right group has taken the president's comments as a “call to arms” and is already using to sell T-shirts.

Starting Tuesday night and continuing Wednesday, the comments got enshrined in memes, including one depicting Trump in one of the Proud Boys’ signature polo shirts. Another meme showed Trump’s quote alongside an image of bearded men carrying American flags and appearing to prepare for a fight. A third incorporated “STAND BACK AND STAND BY” into the group’s logo.
These and other laudatory images spread with particular speed on the conservative social media site Parler and also channels on the encrypted chat app Telegram, according to researchers. One prominent Proud Boys supporter on Parler said Trump appeared to give permission for attacks on protesters, adding that “this makes me so happy.”

It also found that Telegram channels devoted to neo-Nazis and white supremacists portrayed Trump’s comments as signals of support for them. The Proud Boys dispute characterizations of them as white supremacists, but their actions often are touted by white supremacists and others on far-right political fringes.

“He legitimized them in a way that nobody in the community expected. It’s unbelievable. The celebration is incredible,” said Rita Katz, executive director of SITE. “In my 20 years of tracking terrorism and extremism, I never thought I’d see anything like this from a U.S. president.”

www.washingtonpost.com/…

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— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) September 30, 2020

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— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 30, 2020

FDR: “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.”

JFK: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

Donald Trump: “Don't ever use the word smart with me.”

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  • September 30, 2020