Clinton takes aim at Trump’s ties to ‘alt-right’ world of radical conservatives

Reporting from Washington —  No major presidential nominee in recent history has been as openly adored by white nationalists, neo-Nazis and other right-wing extremists as Donald Trump, and on Thursday, Hillary Clinton will make the case that he should be held accountable for their embrace.

In a speech in Reno, Clinton will seek to define the insurgent breed of ideology that has fueled Trump’s rise as a dangerous cancer on the nation’s political discourse. She is taking aim at the so-called alt-right movement, a loosely defined and relatively new network of anti-establishment activists on the right that extends from mere outside-the-box protectionist thinkers to flagrantly racist and anti-Semitic hatemongers.

Trump’s alliance with the alt-right crowd is as nebulous as the movement itself. Its most extreme factions have no affiliation with the campaign, even as they praise Trump’s agenda and compare him favorably with Adolf Hitler. The more mainstream elements — including those demanding the deportation of immigrants in the U.S. illegally, an end to free-trade agreements, and the repudiation of Wall Street — are the lifeblood of the Trump campaign, amplifying its message on social media and driving turnout at his rallies.

But certain actions Trump has taken during the course of the campaign have been cheered by the more racist corners of the alt-right, and Trump’s disavowal of them has been tepid. And Trump has given Clinton an opening to tar him with some of the more extreme elements of the movement by recruiting Stephen K. Bannon, who formerly ran Breitbart News, to help run his campaign. The media organization is the closest thing there is to a voice of the alt-right, even if what it publishes is far tamer than the screeds and memes adherents to the Internet-driven movement regularly post on Reddit and 4chan.

Clinton is particularly motivated to shift campaign conversation in a new direction this week, as she finds herself tangled in her email controversy again. Yet more messages have emerged from her time as secretary of State showing aides helping top supporters of the Clinton family foundation gain access to her.

The contents of the emails are damaging. But even more so is the perception that Clinton and the State Department had tried to hide them from the public. They emerged as the result of an FBI investigation and lawsuits from conservative groups. News that as many as 15,000 more emails have yet to be disclosed has contradicted assurances Clinton made months ago that she had turned over all work related-emails from her time as the nation’s top diplomat.

“Hillary Clinton’s attempt to delete the single worst week of her political career isn’t going to work,” Jason Miller, Trump’s senior communications advisor, said in a statement. “Her admission that there’s a lot of smoke but no fire is a complete lie.”

Miller’s response did not denounce or otherwise address Trump’s relationship with the alt-right.

The alt-right topic presents at once a challenge and an opportunity for the Clinton campaign. Most voters have never heard of the fledgling movement, and even scholars of social media and online activism have struggled to define it. It is so opaque that the Clinton campaign felt the need to offer its own definition of alt-right in announcing the speech.

“This ‘alt right’ brand is embracing extremism and presenting a divisive and dystopian view of America which should concern all Americans, regardless of party,” a campaign statement said.

But the unfamiliarity with the movement of the large share of voters who do not hang out in the depths of Internet chat rooms and immerse themselves in political media gives Clinton a chance to slap her own label on it, and extend it to Trump.

In Nevada, where Clinton will deliver the address, she is locked in a close race with Trump. Her success there will likely hinge on whether she can turn out a large share of Latino voters, and the speech Sunday will seek to motivate them by linking Trump’s plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants and build a giant wall on the Mexican border to white nationalists.

Her campaign is focusing on the alt-right as Trump is vowing an aggressive effort to reach out to blacks and Latinos, from whom he has scant support.