McConnell Weighs in on Trump’s Failure to Condemn White Supremacists During Debate

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is suggesting President Donald Trump’s unwillingness to condemn white supremacists and extremist groups during the first presidential debate on Tuesday night was “unacceptable.”

McConnell echoed remarks made by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) earlier on Wednesday.

A reporter pressed McConnell on which remarks he is referring to.

“He said it was unacceptable not to condemn white supremacists and so I do so in the strongest possible way,” McConnell said.

Another reporter noted Trump told the right-wing Proud Boys group to “stand by” and “stand back” and asked McConnell if it was appropriate for him to say that.

He responded, “I think I just answered that question.”

Watch his comments below:

McConnell was asked if Trump’s debate performance hurts his Republican colleagues.

“No, I don’t know any of my colleagues who will have problems as a result of that,” McConnell said.

Scott told reporters he believes Trump should correct his remarks about white supremacists.

“I think he misspoke in response to Chris Wallace’s comment, he was asking Chris what he wanted to say. I think he misspoke. I think he should correct it. If he doesn’t correct it, I guess he didn’t misspeak,” Scott said.

Trump attempted to clarify his comments about the Proud Boys on Wednesday, as IJR previously reported.

“I don’t know who the Proud Boys are. I mean you’ll have to give me a definition because I really don’t know who they are,” Trump said.

The president’s remarks on white supremacy garnered reactions from Democratic lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

Warren explained during an appearance on CNBC Trump’s refusal to condemn white supremacy is an example of how Trump “made it clear that he cannot be trusted as leader of our nation.”

Pelosi told MSNBC she lost “a lot of sleep” over his remarks.