Even Fox News host Brian Kilmeade couldn’t believe that President Trump failed to condemn white supremacists during Tuesday night’s debate, saying Trump “ruined the biggest layup in the history of debates” by not denouncing hate groups when directly asked by moderator Chris Wallace.
Kilmeade even gave the president the benefit of the doubt (and mixed sports metaphors) by saying, “I don’t know if he didn’t hear it, but he’s gotta clarify that right away. That’s like, ‘Are you against evil?’ Why the president didn’t just knock it out of the park, I’m not sure.”
Before his comments on Trump, Kilmeade criticized Democratic rival Joe Biden’s performance. “There was only one person that called the other one a ‘clown,’ ‘a racist,’ ‘the worst president ever’ and told to ‘shut up,’ and that was Joe Biden on Donald Trump.”
As of Wednesday morning, Trump has yet to follow up on his ambiguous comments about white supremacists and telling the Proud Boys to “stand by,” but he did tweet that Wallace had a “tough night” and that Wallace and Biden ganged up on him.
“Two on one was not surprising, but fun,” Trump posted.
The president has faced strong criticism from both sides of the aisle for not denouncing white supremacists during the debate and telling hate group The Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by” — which is now being used a rallying cry by the far-right neo-fascist organization.
Watch Wednesday’s “Fox & Friends” segment below:
Brian Kilmeade: "Donald Trump ruined the biggest layup in the history of debates by not condemning white supremists. I don't know if he didn't hear it, but he's gotta clarify that right away. … Why the president didn't just knock it out of the park, I'm not sure." pic.twitter.com/Qo52jBDTPl
— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) September 30, 2020