Donald Trump is not making any new friends on his way out of office. In fact, he may be losing those who once supported him. During his final hours as President, the Proud Boys called Trump "weak" and referred to his administration as a "total failure." According to the New York Times, the former President is being referred to as "shill" and "extraordinarily week" on apps like Gab and Telegram.
This is a stark contrast from the comments that were made after the first presidential debate. During the event, Trump made headlines when he told the right-wing extremist group to "stand back" and "stand by."
“Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” Trump told President Joe Biden.
“But I’ll tell you what, I’ll tell you what, somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem.”
Since then, the Proud Boys have come into focus regarding American discourse. Most recently, the right-wing extremist group made headlines when Proud Boys Co-Founder Enrique Tarrio was arrested near the White House and charged with one misdemeanor count of destruction of property for burning a Black Lives Matter banner stolen from Asbury United Methodist Church. Members of the group have also been accused of participating in the violent Capitol Hill riots on January 6. Trump did not outright condemn the group following the riots, but he did not intervene in the prosecution of Tarrio or any other Proud Boys member. This course of action appears to have upset a few of his supporters.
“It really is important for us all to see how much Trump betrayed his supporters this week,” one Proud Boys member wrote on Telegram, according to the Times.
“We are nationalists 1st and always. Trump was just a man and as it turns out an extraordinarily weak one at the end.”