It was one of a string of combative moments in the controversial presidential debate.
When US President Donald Trump was asked to condemn white supremacists by the moderator, then prompted by Biden to specifically criticise the Proud Boys, he said, “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by”.
While Trump said today that he before the debate, the group is one of a number of right-wing fringe groups formed in the past five years and who have engaged in politically motivated violence. Who are they and where did they come from?
Members of the alt-right group, Proud Boys, shake hands during the End Domestic Terrorism rally on August 17, 2019 in Portland, Oregon. Source: Getty Images North America
What do they believe in?
The group was founded in 2016 by Vice Media co-founder Gavin McInnes in the lead-up to Donald Trump’s election as president. He said that the Proud Boys was founded to speak up for a new class of minority: the disenfranchised young male. (McInnes publicly disassociated himself from the group in 2018, saying that he was taking the advice of his legal team.)
Their name is a reference to a song from the Disney film Aladdin, ‘Proud of your Boy.’
They are a self-described ‘pro-Western Fraternal organisation’ and ‘Western Chauvinists. They believe Western culture, especially white men, are under threat and ‘refuse to apologise for creating the world’.
The group gained mainstream popularity in the lead up to the 2016 US election and in the years since, with chapters spreading across the US and the world. They are now known to support far-right neo-fascist values, while promoting misogyny, as well as wearing MAGA hats and black and yellow Fred Perry polo shirts. (
Initiation into the group includes getting a tattoo and being punched while listing off the names of breakfast cereals.
In 2018 the FBI classified the organisation as an “extremist group” and it has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Centre.
The group has a list of tenets, including ‘anti-racism,’ ‘pro-second-amendment’ and ‘anti-race guilt’; as well as the tenet of ‘venerating the housewife’ - that means men go out to work, and women stay at home.
Joseph Oakman and fellow Proud Boys plant a flag in Tom McCall Waterfront Park during a rally in Portland, Oregon in 2019. Source: AAP
What do they do?
The group claim they are not ‘far-right’, however, the Proud Boys have become known for violent political confrontations against Black Lives Matter and Antifa (short for anti-fascist) groups.
Two members were jailed last year for beating up Antifa activists in New York.
On the weekend, the Proud Boys organised a pro-Trump rally in Portland with the Oregon state government Kate Brown declaring a state emergency in anticipation of the event. Far fewer people than anticipated attended the rally.
Gavin McInnes, center, founder of the far-right group Proud Boys, left the group in 2018. Source: AP
What happened during the debate?
In one of the many combative moments during the first 2020 presidential debates, Trump was asked to condemn white supremacists groups.
"I'm willing to do anything. I want to see peace," Mr Trump said.
"What do you want to call them? Give me a name."
"Proud Boys," Joe Biden said.
"Proud Boys, stand back and stand by," Mr Trump said.
"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."
Trump drew widespread criticism for not explicitly criticising the group.
President Trump and Joe Biden spar during the first 2020 presidential election debate Source: AAP
Enrique Tarrio, the group's current chairman, reacted to the debate on the alternative discussion network Parler: "Standing by sir.... I will stand down sir!!!" Other members called his debate comments "historic" and an endorsement.
The conversation was posted on the chat app Telegram as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube have all banned the group from their platforms.
Trump has since told the group to ‘stand down,’ denying that he knew about the Proud Boys group.
