FIVE THINGS ABOUT THE ‘ALT-RIGHT’ PHENOMENON
1 TRUMP SUPPORTERS
The well-dressed whitesupremacist men who gathered in Cleveland’s Ritz-Carlton bar after Donald Trump’s speech accepting the Republican nomination for president prefer the term “Europeanists,” “alt-right,” or even “white nationalists.” They are also diehard Trump supporters and cheered the GOP presidential nominee from inside the Republican National Convention last week.
2 CREDENTIALS
While not official delegates, they nevertheless obtained credentials to attend the party’s highest-profile quadrennial gathering. Sean Spicer, chief strategist for the Republican National Committee, said convention organizers release credentials in large blocks to state delegations, special guests and media outlets. Officials have little control over where they end up, he said, noting that even protesters from the liberal group Code Pink managed to get into the hall.
3 TRANSFORMATION
“I don’t think people have fully recognized the degree to which (Trump’s) transformed the party,” said Richard Spencer, a clean-cut 38-year-old from Arlington, Va., who sipped Manhattans as he matter-of-factly called for removing African-Americans, Hispanics and Jews from the United States.
4 ‘I’M NOT A MANIAC’
“We’ll help them go somewhere else. I’m not a maniac,” Spencer said of the minorities he wants to eject from the country. “I know in order to achieve what I want to achieve, you have to deal with people rationally.”
5 ‘A LIFETIME RECORD OF INCLUSION’
Asked to respond to the white supremacists’ presence at the convention, campaign spokesman Jason Miller said: “Donald Trump has a lifetime record of inclusion and has publicly rebuked groups who seek to discriminate against others on numerous occasions.”