Hours after an anti-racism protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned deadly, President Donald Trump condemned groups on “both sides” of the debate. Even though, the white supremacists were the ones ramming a car into people.
President Trump said:
“What about the alt-left that came charging at, as you say, at the alt-right?”
Most people know of or at least have heard of the term “alt-right.” It is used to refer to a group of far-right Republicans that emerged during the 2016 presidential campaign.
The term “alt-left” is also floating around the internet. They are trying to create an opposition to the alt-right and create this false equivalence between the two. The problem is that there is no group that has come out and called themselves the “alt-left.”
Similar to the umbrella “fake news,” right-wing media outlets are using this term “alt-left” to refer to any group that they disagree with.
Of course, various people are taking to Twitter with memes and with their own definitions of “alt-left.” Here are just a few tweets on the subject:
Famous Members of the Alt-Left pic.twitter.com/wnHaazbccM
— Jules (@jules_su) August 16, 2017
WTF is #AltLeft? Opposite of #AltRight? Opposite of bigotry, hatred, violence, group supremacy?
If so then COUNT ME IN!#ProudToBeAltLeft
— ??TrumpsAChump (@WorkTurns2War) August 15, 2017
Let's make something very clear:
There's no such thing as the ALT-LEFT.
It is a term invented by racists for political cover.
— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) August 16, 2017
Stop ignoring the terrorism of the alt-right and other white supremacy groups, @realDonaldTrump #AltLeft pic.twitter.com/w2AMNiJNeY
— Danielle (@Danilizsky) August 15, 2017
After the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, this past weekend, President Trump has refused to condemn the alt-right. He is, instead, going after the “alt-left” and refusing to condemn the neo-Nazis and white supremacists.
After President Trump used the term “alt-left,” media outlets scrambled to try and define the term. CNN quoted the Director of the Anti-Defamation League, Oren Segal, who said:
“There is no such movement as the alt-left. Obviously, there are left-wing extremists but there is no congruence between the far-left and the alt-right.”
There you go, Trump. The “alt-left’ doesn’t exist.
Featured image via Twitter.