There were a lot of talking points from yesterday's Presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
The US President was asked during a discussion about race relations in America to personally condemn white supremacist and militia groups in the country.
Trump said he was more concerned about far-left groups like Antifa, however he was pushed on the alt-right.
Advert
He asked moderator Chris Wallace to name someone to condemn and then mentioned The Proud Boys and told them to 'stand down and stand by', before going back to talking about the far-left.
It caused quite a stir because it wasn't an outright condemnation of white supremacy in the country that he leads.
But The Proud Boys seem to be thrilled about the shoutout, with the head of the group hailing the debate as a 'great moment'.
Advert
The Proud Boys were founded in 2016 and have been labelled an extremist, far-right, all-male 'fraternity' who believe that western culture, and in particular white men, are under attack because of political correctness.
In November 2018, the FBI officially classified the Proud Boys as an extremist group with ties to white nationalism and the South Poverty Law Centre says the group is an 'alt-right fight club'.
The group's international chairman, Enrique Tarrio, doesn't like any of those terms when talking about The Proud Boys.
Advert
He told Sky News UK: "We've been called many names, but probably the most inaccurate name you can call us is white supremacists.
"I think it was a great moment that we were mentioned on stage...if we were recognised by anyone we were recognised by Biden."
After copping criticism for naming the group at the debate, Donald Trump has since distanced himself from knowing anything about The Proud Boys.
"I don't know who the Proud Boys are," Trump said. "Whoever they are, they have to stand down. Let law enforcement do their work."
Advert
Kris McGuffie, the deputy director of the Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, told Insider that the President's words were concerning.
He's worried that the 'stand down and stand by' comment would be used as a rally slogan for members of the group.
Sure enough, the words were reportedly used by loads of people from The Proud Boys on the messaging service Telegram.
"Calls for overt violence and civil war have been building since President Trump began campaigning for the presidency, and we have seen the real-world results of increased calls for violence that are legitimised by politicians and other people in power," he said.
Topics: News, US News, Donald Trump