Here’s something new: a transition team issuing a statement in which the president-elect denounces racism. This isn’t 2008 anymore, is it?
Trump transition statement on alt right conference where neo nazis and white nationalists were praising Trump's election pic.twitter.com/XZCxVSS6Jt
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) November 21, 2016
Crazy as it might seem, there were plenty of policy issues on the line in the 2016 election, and if it took voting for Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine to prove one wasn’t a racist, then sorry: we missed that memo.
Still, there’s no denying Trump has fans he and the rest of the country could do without, and an ugly “alt-right” conference in Washington, D.C., over the weekend had plenty wondering when Trump was going to denounce it. (That’s what the statement above was supposed to do, right?)
"Heil the people! Heil victory," some shouted at an alt-right conference in Washington https://t.co/McMAo32r5B
— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 21, 2016
This weekend, Neo-Nazi Richard Spencer (who coined the term "alt-right") led the crowd at his conference in DC in a "Heil Trump" chant. pic.twitter.com/X1qX0l3uKI
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) November 21, 2016
The alt-right was on a lot of minds in the media Monday, and CNN stunned quite a few people (including the show’s vacationing host) with this chyron, about a million screenshots of which made the rounds on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/SaraMorrison/status/800850577500545028
To be clear: I believe Jews are people (I’m also not the alt-right founder referenced on the chyron) https://t.co/G6E7sy6eFT
— Matt Viser (@mviser) November 21, 2016
https://twitter.com/RandyEBarnett/status/800826870254239744
Hey @CNN. 1. You gotta call alt-right what it is – white supremacist. 2. Just b/c some idiot says it doesn't mean you put it on the chyron. https://t.co/HyvPMmjnWe
— Kai Ryssdal (@kairyssdal) November 21, 2016
That’s very well stated, and yes … can we all give “alt-right” a rest? It’s terribly ambiguous, it suggests some sort of neighborly relationship with mainstream conservatism, and finally, if someone’s a neo-Nazi, there’s a perfectly good term for it: neo-Nazi.
https://twitter.com/jsthorpe2/status/800851031974432769
yes, I'm off this week and I'm furious about that chyron and my staff has heard from me. Unacceptable.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 22, 2016
If Trump’s transition is raising questions, by all means, cover the specifics, but expecting his team to denounce that conference is akin to asking when someone is going to stop beating his wife. There’s no way to win, either by ignoring it or denouncing it, apparently.
https://twitter.com/samfbiddle/status/800852231385915393
Notice that Trump NEVER denounces white supremacist/neo-Nazi fans proactively. Only when an interviewer demands it, and then reluctantly.
— Paul Waldman (@paulwaldman1) November 22, 2016
Of all the takes on that debacle, Daily Caller senior writer Jamie Weinstein’s demonstrated some real clarity that CNN’s sensationalism didn’t:
Just intv'd Richard Spencer for my podcast. While alt-right supported Trump, it's as leftwing as rightwing https://t.co/JmvqcIe2c7
— Jamie Weinstein (@Jamie_Weinstein) November 21, 2016
As I noted to Richard Spencer in my intv today, his conference had 200-300 ppl, BronyCon 2016 had over 7,000. Not sure alt-right thriving
— Jamie Weinstein (@Jamie_Weinstein) November 21, 2016
(For those out of the loop, BronyCon is a gathering of men who are fans of the “My Little Pony” cartoon.)
Alt-right has almost nothing to do w/ American "right." Not free marketers. Spencer not believing Christian. Isolationist. Pro Abortion. Etc
— Jamie Weinstein (@Jamie_Weinstein) November 21, 2016
My 1.5 hrs podcast intv w/ Spencer coming later this week. Even with all the intvs he's given, I think ppl will find this interesting.
— Jamie Weinstein (@Jamie_Weinstein) November 21, 2016
Worth repeating: the neo-Nazi group that hailed Trump’s election and therefore sucked up a bunch of media oxygen Monday drew around 200 people.
https://twitter.com/AviWoolf/status/800822970209959937
Would it be too much to ask to dim the spotlight on this clown for a minute?
Un-fucking-believable. @CBSNews gives a softball interview to an actual white nationalist. https://t.co/QvpPAeNjTS pic.twitter.com/UWrNzn5nJa
— Carlos Maza (@gaywonk) November 18, 2016
Richard Spencer is indeed an antisemite, but a little perspective is in order. His national conference drew just 200 people. That's pathetic
— Ahron Shapiro (@AhronRShapiro) November 21, 2016
Richard Spencer is speaking to a conference attended by 200 people. He doesn't have any power beyond what media gives him.
— Daniel Friedman (@DanFriedman81) November 21, 2016
* * *
Update:
Richard Spencer just texted me that the Nazi salutes at his Sat speech were “clearly done in a spirit of irony and exuberance.”
— P.J. Tobia (@PJTobia) November 21, 2016
nope
— Joel Braunold (@braunold) November 21, 2016
Send some 95-year old D-Day vets to beat the living snot out of them, in a spirit of irony and exuberancehttps://t.co/a2eMkRNo9U
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) November 22, 2016
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