CLAIM: Joe Biden said President Donald Trump told the “Proud Boys” to “stand ready based on the outcome of the election.”
VERDICT: FALSE. Biden brought up the “Proud Boys,” whom Trump told to “stand down and stand by.”
Biden delivered a speech in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, the day after the first presidential debate, in which he grossly distorted what Trump said the night before. He also delivered a similar speech in Ohio.
Moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump to tell “white supremacists and militia” to “stand down.” When Trump asked him to name a group, Biden interjected and named the “Proud Boys,” a right-wing group.
Here is the debate transcript (emphasis added):
Wallace: You have repeatedly criticized the vice president for not specifically calling out Antifa —
Trump: That’s right.
Wallace: — and other left-wing extremist groups. But are you willing, tonight to condemn white supremacists and militia groups —
Trump: Sure.
Wallace: — and to say that they need to stand down and not add to the violence in a number of these cities as we saw in Kenosha, and as we’ve seen in Portland.
Trump: Sure, I’m willing to do that.
Wallace: Are you prepared specifically to do it.
Trump: I would say —
Wallace: Go ahead, sir.
Trump: I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing not, not from the right wing.
Wallace: So what are you — what are you saying?
Trump: I’m willing to do anything. I want to see peace.
Wallace: Well, then, do it, sir.
Trump: I am —
Biden: Say it. Do it. Say it.
Trump: Do you call them — What do you want to call them? Give me a name. Give me a name.
Wallace: White supremacist — and right-wing militia.
Trump: Go ahead. Who would you like me to condemn?
Biden: White supremacists. The Proud Boys.
Trump: Who.
Wallace: White supremacists and right-wing militia.
Trump: Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell you what. Somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left. Because this is not a right-wing problem —
Biden: His own — his own FBI director said —
Trump: –this is a left-wing problem. This is a left-wing problem.
Biden: — the threat comes from white supremacists. Antifa is an idea, not an organization.
Trump: Oh, you gotta be kidding.
Biden: Not militia. That’s what his FBI —
Trump: Oh, really, FBI, OK.
Biden: His FBI director said.
Wallace: Gentlemen, we’re gonna —
Trump: Well, then he’s wrong.
Wallace: No, no. We’re done, sir.
Here is how Biden described that exchange in his Pennsylvania speech:
And you heard what he said last night, when he was asked by the moderator, “Will you condemn white supremacy?” And he fuddled around didn’t say anything. I said, “How about the Proud Boys?” And he said, “Well,” the context he likes he said, “just tell them to stand down and stand by.” Go online. Look up Proud Boys they’ve got a new emblem now, literally. It says, “Stand down and stand by.” Implying that if he loses the election, something may have to be done.
And here is how Biden summarized that exchange in his Ohio speech:
When asked, “Would he condemn white supremacy?” He didn’t say a word. Then when I said, “Well, how about the Proud Boys?” Which is a white supremacist group. He said, “Well, I just told them to stand down and stand ready,” stand down and stand ready based on the outcome of the election?
Not only did Biden lie about Trump’s response on the question of white supremacy in general, he lied about what Trump said about the Proud Boys in particular.
Biden evidently meant to suggest that Trump was reserving the option of violence after the election if he lost.
The violence in the country this year has been almost exclusively left-wing. Democrats’ own “war game” (their word) for the election included Biden refusing to accept the results of the election if Trump won, and the West Coast states seceding from the Union, awaiting military intervention to decide the outcome.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). His newest e-book is The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.