Dictionary Calls Out Donald Trump By Tweeting Definitions Of ‘Stand Back’ & ‘Stand By’
Last night during the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, moderator Chris Wallace asked the president to condemn white supremacy and associated groups in the United States. Instead, Trump replied with what some people felt was a call to action for the far right group the Proud Boys. Merriam-Webster Dictionary called out Trump by tweeting the definitions of the phrases he used.
“‘Stand back’: to take a few steps backwards[.] ‘Stand by’: to be or to get ready to act #Debates2020,” tweeted the official Merriam-Webster account.
The expert level trolling received a lot of attention on the platform, obtaining 131,000 likes, 53,500 retweets, and thousands of replies. Most accounts that commented appreciated the expertise of the brand’s social media manager, and the overall tone of the majority was disapproval of Trump’s remarks.
“MERRIAM-WEBSTER COMIN’ IN HOT. Bless your social media team. From a former social media manager, you are so good at this, and I love you,” replied a Twitter user.
“thanks for underscoring the part where the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES MADE AN OPEN CALL-OUT TO WHITE SUPREMACISTS!” a second person wrote.
“When even the dictionary has to speak out against Trump, you know there’s a serious problem,” declared a third.
Not every reply was rosy, though. Some people did not want the dictionary to be involved in trolling or politics, and they made their displeasure known.
“The dictionary getting into politics is this most 2020 thing none of us needed. It’s enough of a sh*t show without additional commentary,” complained one unhappy user.
The unprecedented situation came before Trump and Biden had a testy exchange about Antifa, which the president labeled a far left terrorist group. Biden said it is an ideology and not an organization, citing FBI Director Christopher Wray’s testimony. Before they got into the discussion, Wallace got the president’s attention and asked Trump if he was willing to condemn white supremacy in the United States outright.
Instead of outright condemning groups like the Proud Boys and the Ku Klux Klan, Trump had some words for them after saying he would condemn whoever he needed to.
“Stand back and stand by,” he said.
The Inquisitr reported that after Trump’s words, the Proud Boys changed its logo to include them, and many members appeared to celebrate online after hearing his statement. Some viewers felt the remark was a call for violence during the upcoming election from the group, and the dictionary’s definition seemed to agree with that assessment.
