Story highlights No groups have adopted the term "alt-left"

There's no congruence between the far-left and the alt-right, expert says

(CNN) President Donald Trump equated white supremacist marchers in Charlottesville to counterprotesters by calling them "alt-left," prompting an immediate backlash and questions about the term itself.

"What about the alt-left that came charging at, as you say, the alt-right, do they have any semblance of guilt ... What about the fact they came charging with clubs in hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do," Trump said at a news conference Tuesday referring to a rally in Charlottesville that turned violent over the weekend.

Many people have never heard of the "alt-left," but "alt-right" is a term that's found its way into popular culture and the vernacular of politicians and journalists.

Richard Spencer, president of the National Policy Institute and the editor of Radix Journal, is credited with coining the term "alt-right."

"I don't use the term white nationalist to describe myself," he said. "I like the term alt-right. It has an openness to it. And immediately understandable. We're coming from a new perspective."

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