First 2020 Presidential Debate: on Civil Rights


Donald Trump: Proud Boys: stand back & stand by; against Antifa

Q: You have repeatedly criticized the vice president for not specifically calling out Antifa and other left wing extremist groups. But are you willing tonight to condemn white supremacists and to say that they need to stand down?

TRUMP: Almost everything I see is from the left wing not from the right wing. Give me a name; who do you want me to condemn?

Q: White supremacist and right-wing militia.

BIDEN: Proud Boys.

TRUMP: 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, this is a left wing.

BIDEN: He's own FBI Director said unlike white supremacists, Antifa is an idea, not an organization, not a militia--

TRUMP: Oh, you got to be kidding me. Well, then you know what, he's wrong. Antifa is bad. Antifa is a dangerous radical group.

Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace Sep 29, 2020

Donald Trump: Racial sensitivity training is racist: a radical revolution

Q: Why did you decide to end racial sensitivity training?

TRUMP: I ended it because it's racist. I ended it because a lot of people were complaining that they were asked to do things that were absolutely insane. That it a radical revolution that was taking place in our military, in our schools, all over the place.

Q: What is radical about racial sensitivity training?

TRUMP: If you were a certain person, you had no status in life. It was sort of a reversal. And if you look at the people, we were paying people hundreds of thousands of dollars to teach very bad ideas and frankly, very sick ideas. They were teaching people to hate our country And I'm not going to do that. We have to go back to the core values of this country. They were teaching people that our country is a horrible place. It's a racist place. And they were teaching people to hate our country. I'm not going to allow that to happen.

Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace Sep 29, 2020

Donald Trump: FactCheck: Proud Boys standing by to deal with Antifa

The Proud Boys pledged allegiance to Trump after he told the group to "stand back and stand by" during the first presidential debate. One social media account for the group made "Stand back. Stand by" part of its new logo.

Trump was asked by debate moderator Chris Wallace to disavow white supremacy. But Trump did not denounce any far-right group, pivoting to talk about Antifa, a left-wing organization.

One Proud Boys organizer posted "President Trump told the proud boys to stand by because someone needs to deal with ANTIFA... well sir! we're ready!!"

The Proud Boys, a self-described "Western chauvinist" organization, is considered a violent, nationalistic, and misogynistic hate group, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Proud Boys members marched at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and have organized against Black Lives Matter protests in recent months.

[Pres. Trump walked back his statement post-debate, and denounced the Proud Boys].

Source: NBC News Fact-Check˙on First 2020 Presidential Debate Sep 29, 2020

Joe Biden: Ran for president after Trump's response to Charlottesville

Q: Why should voters trust you rather than your opponent to deal with the race issues facing this country over the next four years?

BIDEN: It's about equity and equality. It's about decency. It's about the Constitution. We have never walked away from trying to require equity for everyone, equality for the whole of America. We've never walked away from it like he has done. It is true, the reason I got in the race is when those people. Close your eyes, remember what those people look like coming out of the fields, carrying torches, their veins bulging, just spewing anti-Semitic bile and accompanied by the Ku Klux Klan. A young woman got killed and they asked the president what he thought. He said, "There were very fine people on both sides." No president's ever said anything like that. This is a president who has used everything as a dog whistle, to try to generate racist hatred, racist division.

Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace Sep 29, 2020

Joe Biden: There's systemic injustice, will bring people together

Q: Do you believe that there is a separate but unequal system of justice for Blacks in this country?

BIDEN: Yes, there is. There's systemic injustice in this country, in education and work and in law enforcement and the way in which it's enforced. But look, the vast majority of police officers are good, decent, honorable men and women. They risk their lives every day to take care of us, but there are some bad apples. And when they occur, when they find them, they have to be sorted out. They have to be held accountable. What I'm going to do as President of the United States is call together an entire group of people at the White House, everything from the civil rights groups, to the police officers, to the police chiefs, and we're going to work this out.

Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace Sep 29, 2020

Joe Biden: Suburbs are by and large integrated

I was raised in the suburbs. This is not 1950. All these dog whistles and racism don't work anymore. Suburbs are by-and-large integrated. More people today drive their kids to soccer practice--black & white & Hispanic in the same car--as any time in the past.

What really is a threat to the suburbs is [Trump's] failure to deal with COVID. His failure to deal with the environment; they're being flooded, & burned out, because his refusal to do anything. That's why the suburbs are in trouble.

Source: First 2020 Presidential Debate, moderated by Chris Wallace Sep 29, 2020

Joe Biden: This is Trump's America: Proud Boys over Antifa

The Proud Boys pledged allegiance to Trump after he told the group to "stand back and stand by" during the first presidential debate. Trump was asked to disavow white supremacy. But Trump did not denounce any far-right group, pivoting to talk about Antifa, a left-wing organization.

The Proud Boys, a self-described "Western chauvinist" organization, is considered a violent, nationalistic, Islamophobic, transphobic and misogynistic hate group, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit organization that tracks extremist groups. Proud Boys members marched at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and have organized against Black Lives Matter protests in recent months.

Biden commented on the Proud Boys reaction, responding to a journalist who tweeted out a screenshot of the group celebrating the mention. "This. This is Donald Trump's America," Biden tweeted.

Source: NBC News Fact-Check˙on First 2020 Presidential Debate Sep 29, 2020

Kate Brown: Racism and hate are not forms of patriotism

The Proud Boys pledged allegiance to Trump after he told the group to "stand back and stand by" during the first presidential debate. Trump was asked to disavow white supremacy. But Trump did not denounce any far-right group, pivoting to talk about Antifa, a left-wing organization.

The Proud Boys, a self-described "Western chauvinist" organization, is considered a violent, nationalistic, Islamophobic, transphobic and misogynistic hate group, according to the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit organization that tracks extremist groups. Proud Boys members marched at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and have organized against Black Lives Matter protests in recent months.

"Let's be clear: The Proud Boys are white supremacists," tweeted Oregon Gov. Kate Brown. "Racism and hate are not forms of patriotism."

Source: NBC News Fact-Check˙on First 2020 Presidential Debate Sep 29, 2020

  • The above quotations are from First Presidential Debate, Case Western Reserve University, Sept. 29, 2020.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Civil Rights.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Joe Biden on Civil Rights.
  • Click here for more quotes by Donald Trump on Civil Rights.
2020 Presidential contenders on Civil Rights:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN)
Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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Page last updated: Oct 07, 2020