Kamala Harris is getting a surprising endorsement from the Alt-Right’s Richard Spencer

Richard Spencer, who has been credited with coining the term “alt-right,” has publicly endorsed the vice president Kamala Harris and Democrats ballot in Montana Friday night.

Spencer, one of the 14 organizers was forced to pay millions in a civil lawsuit after he organized the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, told his 93,500 followers about X, ex Twitter“I want you all to know that I’m voting for Kamala Harris and I hope you will too.”

Given the slightly surprising support, both because of his politics and past comments about women, Spencer clarified in a phone interview with Newsweek on Saturday morning, “I just want someone who is competent to be in charge so that something can happen as opposed to demonizing the other side.”

Spencer, who has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as a “suit-and-tie version of the white supremacists of yore, a kind of professional racist in khakis,” added that “there is a complete absence of politics among the GOP it’s the ‘no’ party, it’s an almost nihilistic party,” in contrast to how he sees Democrats as “more competent,” “capable of being reasonable” and wanting to “rule the whole country.”

Spencer clarified that he is not affiliated with any political party.

In the interview with Newsweek on Saturday, he specifically cited bipartisan border bill that republicans shot down earlier this year as an example. “If you don’t want things to get better, then you’re kind of evil,” he said.

Spencer announced her support for Harris in a nearly 12-minute video posted to X, saying, “This is not some kind of troll or joke; this is an honest vote”.

In the video, he discussed what voting for a candidate means to him, saying you have to consider “who best offers stability, security, continuity, and is most likely to be the best manager of the American empire.”

He continued: “Having said that, the choice is very clear. i think Donald Trump and the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement brings nothing but stupidity and chaos”.

Newsweek reached out to Harris and the Trump campaign for comment via email on Saturday.

Spencer previously praised Trump’s 2016 victory over the former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton with the battle cry: “Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!”

When asked by Newsweek why he endorsed trump in 2016 spencer said: “trump was really sounding politically incorrect, nationalist notes. And there was this notion that everything was going to change,” adding that there was this “kind of beauty in chaos.”

Now, he says, “if we fully implement what they (Trump and his allies) are talking about, it will be a catastrophe for everybody.”

He noted that a Trump administration would be “very keen to dismantle” what he describes as “the American empire,” which includes military bases abroad, the dollar system, major commitments to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (nato), and many others. “I just don’t support it,” he said of the dismantling.

Spencer only endorsed Trump’s first run, and in 2020 he endorsed then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Biden’s campaign manager, Andrew Bates, rejected Spencer’s endorsement on Twitter.

Reflecting on Biden’s presidency, Spencer said Newsweek, “I don’t think Biden was great, but I think he was a pretty good president,” citing the CHIPS Act and “Build Back Better” ideas.

Spencer is the former co-editor of the now-defunct Altright.com and the former president of the National Policy Institute. He has repeatedly promoted white supremacist, racist and misogynist ideologies.

His support for a female presidential candidate stands in contrast to his 2016 comments about Clinton on Twitter, saying at the time: “Women should never be allowed to do foreign policy. It doesn’t mean they are “weak”. On the contrary, their revenge knows no bounds.”

In addition, he previously told Newsweek in a 2017 interview, “I’m not very excited about voting in general. I think mass democracy is a bit of a joke, to be honest.” He added, “I don’t necessarily think it’s a great thing,” regarding women voting in US elections.

When asked about her apparent shift in position and the vote for what could be the first female president of the United States, Spencer said Newsweek, “Women, on average, are just as smart as men, if not smarter than men on average…I have complete confidence in Harris and her administration as competent administrators. That was never a problem.”

In her X post on Friday announcing her support for Harris, Spencer wrote, “I will protect women…whether they like it or not!” The post is a play on Trump’s remarks at a rally in Wisconsin on Wednesday in which Trump noted that his aides advised him refrain from using the term “protective” because it was “inappropriate”.

Spencer, who lives in Whitefish, Montana, said in the video that she would “vote straight Democrats.” The state, which has a Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, and a Republican-controlled legislature, has an R+11 partisan voting index, according to the Cook Political Report. Democratic senator Jon Tester participate in a contested race for the USA Senate place, with most polls favoring Republican challenger Tim Sheehy.

he said Newsweek“Tester and Monica Tranel are just real centrists,” adding “they’re not crazy woke liberals or anything, they’re just perfectly reasonable people.” Tranel is running to represent Montana’s 1st Congressional District in the US House of Representatives.

Spencer said his main issue is Ukraine and the continued support of the US in its war against Russia.

Earlier this year, he responded to an attack on Harris by right-wing political commentator Tim Pool, who called Harris a “communist despot out to put conservatives in concert camps.”

Spencer replied to Pool’s X message, writing: “A bit much?”