“We have to go back and fight for our ground and re-win these ideas and marginalize these guys the best we can to the corners,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo Ryan says conservatives must 'fight back' against the alt-right

Conservatives should "fight back" against the alt-right and white nationalists, and do a better job reclaiming classic terms to stamp out identity politics, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said on Thursday.

“We have to go back and fight for our ground and re-win these ideas and marginalize these guys the best we can to the corners,” Ryan said. “Do everything you can to defeat it.”


Ryan made the comments in conversation with National Review senior editor Jonah Goldberg. The two conservatives spoke at an event hosted by the American Enterprise Institute. Ryan had harsh words for the alt-right, an umbrella term for extreme right-wing individuals who reject mainstream conservatism and often embrace racism and white supremacy.

“That is not conservatism. That is racism. That is nationalism. That is not what we believe in. That is not the founding vision, that is not the founders’ creed,” Ryan said.

The alt-right grabbed headlines last year when a “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, resulted in the death of one woman.

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Ryan said 21st century technology, which allows individuals to make money off pushing divisive messaging, makes the task of pushing out the alt-right particularly difficult. He said the faction “hijacked” conservative terms like “western civilization” and distorted the conservative message.

“It is identity politics. It’s antithetical to what we believe and it’s a hijacking of our terms,” Ryan said. “How do we get the core back? How do we get back classic liberalism properly understood in the 21st century?"

Ryan recently came under fire for not taking a harder line against Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), who has a history of inflammatory anti-immigrant remarks.

After King retweeted a Nazi sympathizer last month, a Ryan spokesperson ultimately said, “The Speaker has said many times that Nazis have no place in our politics, and clearly members should not engage with anyone promoting hate.” King later boasted that the spokesperson didn’t even mention him by name.

