Opinion | Of course Trump refused to condemn his white supremacists followers. Chris Wallace should've been ready for that. By mannyfidel
OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images During the first presidential debate, moderator Chris Wallace asked Trump to condemn his white supremacist voters. Trump refused to do so emphatically, and even told a white supremacist gang called "The Proud Boys" to "stand by.
" While Trump's response was both disgusting and unsurprising, Wallace also failed to pursue the line of questioning, which played right into the hands of white supremacist Trump supporters.Visit Business Insider's homepage for more storiesThe first presidential debate wasn't really a debate at all. I'm not quite sure how else a face-to-face televised argument between two "tough guy" 70-somethings was supposed to go, but I couldn't have imagined this. We seem lost in the moment now, but close your eyes and imagine for a second: the former vice president of the United States called the current president of the United States a "clown" and told him to "shut up" on live television. You'd be forgiven if you missed that moment, since it was in the middle of incessant interruptions by both parties. But there was a third voice clamoring for attention: Chris Wallace's, the night's moderator. Wallace, famous for being the middle-of-the-road personality at Fox News, admittedly had a tough job to do. Trump's whole personality is his abrasive callousness, and it's a tall order to try and tame that. Naturally, Trump walked all over him. Wallace sounded like a teen trying to get his soon-to-be divorced parents to stop arguing, and it fueled the headaches of potentially millions of Americans. But there was one moment in a night of chaos that stuck out. It not only was the lowest and grossest moment for Trump, but it also was Wallace's most damning mistake.About midway through the debate, Chris Wallace asked President Trump to emphatically denounce his supporters who are white supremacists. Trump hesitated and stammered a non-answer before asking Wallace who exactly he was referring to. Wallace answered "The Proud Boys," which is surprisingly not the name of an after-school acapella group. In reality, they're a white supremacist gang that's been seeking out violence in cities that have been undergoing anti-police brutality protests., The Proud Boys are known for their anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, and misogynist rhetoric, and appeared alongside other extremist groups during "Unite the Right" protests in Charlottesville, which resulted in the murder of Heather Heyer. Their founder, VICE media co-founder Gavin McIness, has brazenly talked about
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