"nightline" is next. thank you for watching, good night, everybody! this is "nightline." >> tonight, confronting hate. >> hail trump! hail our people sclach. >> richard spencer, the man who coined the term "alt-right" -- >> white people are ruling right now. >> emboldened extreme world view. >> donald trump slingshoted our movement into fame. >> we travel to texas a&m. where his words inciting massive protests. are you trying to normalize racism? >> yes. i'm trying to normalize racism, as you call it, absolutely. plus a bronx tale. we take you to opening night of bro

with robert de niro directing, anything can happen. >> listen, donald trump was elected, we don't know anything these days. >> behind the scenes with stars whose dreams are coming true. one proud pa. >> she's she's on broadway, how cool is it? >> our anchor byron. >> you point them as well as you can -- >> but first the "nightline 5." constipated? use dulcolax tablets for gentle overnight relief, suppositories for relief in minutes, stool softeners for comfortable relief of hard stools. dull la kaction for dependable relief. i've seen a change in einstein. the number one ingredient was beef. >> the beef was fantastic. >> he has enough energy to believe he can jump high enough to catch a bird. >> try beneful originals with beef as the number one ingredient.

good evening. thanks for joining us. tonight we take you to a showdown between a self-proclaimed white nationalist and hundreds of protesters. richard spencer, founder of the so-called alt-right movement which has gained national attention in recent months, became infamous when video went viral of his supporters hailing trump with nazi salutes. when he to speak on a college campus, the community stood against him. >> reporter: emotions bubbling over at texas a&m. with the university becoming an ideological battleground. last night, thousands came together to protest one man. >> white people are ruling right now. white people have tremendous amount of power. >> reporter: richard spencer,

calling a suit and tie racist. >> hail trump! hail our people! hail victory! >> reporter: last month this video of spencer at a so-called alt-right conference exalting in trump's win. going viral after some in attendance went as far as throwing the deeply disturbing nazi salute, propelling him into the national spotlight. >> a white country, designed for ourselves and >> reporter: his movement he says boosted by trump's win. >> you went from obscurity to notoriety. >> i think donald trump slingshoted our movement into fame. >> reporter: we traveled to texas to examine the roots of the new generation of racial extremism, meeting up with a 38-year-old just before his next event. >> you gave a speech, it went viral on "the atlantic." at the end you said, hail trump. hail victory. you laugh. why? >> because that was said in a spirit of irony and exuberance.

genocide? what is fun about mass murder? >> i said hail trump, but i held up a glass of whiskey. there's some people that, a half dozen in the audience, who gave a roman salute. >> it's not a roman salute, you know that, it is a nazi party sa salute. are you trying to normalize racism? >> yes, i'm trying to normal it racism as you call it, absolutely, i'm trying to n normalize my ideas, our ideas of the alt-right, yes. i do not want the alt-right to be a fringe movement, i want the alt-right to be a dominant movement. >> repte but it is difficult to understand his inflammatory rhetoric in any other way. you told "mother jones" his pan ins and african-americans have lower average iqs than whites and are more genetically predisposed to commit crimes. >> yes. >> that is a classic tenet of white supremacy. >> it's empirical fact. >> genetically predisposed? that is not a fact. >> when you study average intelligence around the world

going to have to look towards genetics as a cause. >> what do your parents think of your ideas? >> they think i'm a bit crazy. >> they do? it's actually strained your relationship, according to you? >> a lot of things have been strained because of my activism, yes. it's been very difficult. >> businesses in the montana have banned you, restaurants have said you can't come? >> sure. i've been banned from most of europe. >> reporter: texas a&m denounced his views but decided not to ban him, citing free he was invited by a former student, hoping to spread his incendiary views. his presence today not without considerable controversy. >> we don't like him! >> go home spencer, we don't want you, that's what he's saying. >> right. i'm here. i think that's good. >> do you feel like a pariah, though? do you feel like a skunk at the garden party? >> a skunk at the garden party? no. >> what kinds of things were you shouting? >> i want people to see through

they are not racial realists. they are neo-nazis. >> look, they're just like -- they're gutter punks. they're not good people. let's be honest. hey, could i borrow a marker? thanks. >> reporter: with our cameras rolling spencer further defies his detractors, writing on a wall the students set up to voice messages against him. >> you enjoy being a provocateur? >> yeah, who wasn't? >> reporter: spencer and his supporters feel emboldened by a political landscape he never dreamed of. >> thank you very much. >> what was your reaction the moment you knew that trump won the presidency? >> it was a kind of miracle. if someone told me two years ago that donald trump would be the alt-right hero and he would be president -- i would be like, what ridiculous movie are you talking about? this is not real life. but it is real life. >> reporter: although the president-elect publicly distanced himself from the alt-right in an interview with

>> yes. >> what does it mean to you? >> the identity politics for white people in the 21st century. look. i think the alt-right has gained a great deal of ground precisely because we are provocative and precisely because -- to use bad language, we don't give a [ bleep ]. >> the term alt-right is really nothing more than a rebranding of white supremacy for the digital 18 age. i don't think anybody should be fool core, and that is, white supremacy. >> reporter: according to the southern poverty law center there's already been a spike of hate crimes and harassment in the days after the presidential election. more than 800 reported in 47 states. they believe the first line of defense is spotlighting what they consider dangerous hate speech. >> richard spencer. he's the head of the alt-right. the godfather of the alt-right. and quite frankly, mr. trump ran a racially divisive campaign.

obligation to cover richard spencer. >> no kkk! >> the shouting, this pretty rowdy group of protesters, a coalition of student groups and anti-hate groups who says, he has every right to say what he says, but it's their first amendment right to protest. >> this is us uniting together to have fun and come together. >> reporter: spencer says his ideal world is an all-white ethno-state where races are segregated ethnic cleansing. >> would i be allowed to live in your ethno-state? >> no, but you could have your own ethno-state. >> very gracious of you. >> this would be a new type of society. a big empire for all europeans -- >> how do you remove 100 million blacks, latinos, asians from your ethno-state? >> the ethno-state is an ideal. it's not going to happen tomorrow morning. >> you're quoted as saying it could be horribly bloody and terrible. that that's a possibility.

possibility. i think the current paradigm that we are living under is going to lead to blood and tears, period. >> you're predicting a race war? basically. >> i don't know exactly what's going to happen, but yes, i do think that it will be a crack-up predominantly on racial lines. >> reporter: as night pfalls, several hundred have gathered for spencer's talk. we're about ten minutes away and he has a packed house. i would expect fireworks. across the street the university's president signs that very wall that spencer wrote on earlier in the day. >> well, i believe we live in a world where the differences actually make us stronger. >> reporter: and he, along with a series of musicians, students -- >> aggies united! >> reporter: literally drowning out his hateful message at the nearby football stadium. >> when there's fear and hate inside us, when our differences divide us, let love lead the way. i love you all. >> i'm referring to people like you --

event, the vast majority of his audience indeed was there in opposition. with multiple outbursts and clashes erupting during his speech. security had to intervien to de-escalate several volatile exchanges. at one point, police in riot gear entered the student union. but none of the hostility took spencer off message. >> this is out of goddamn country. our goddamn country. >> reporter: at the football stadium, it is the soaring message of tolerance and and drowns out that hateful and unwelcome din next door. ? up next, it's one of the hottest shows on broadway. "a bronx tale." co-director robert de niro tells us about his creative process. and my "nightline" coanchor byron pitts has a very special connection to the show. easy booger man. take mucinex dm.

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seeing a broadway show with your daughter is an emotional experience. seeing a broadway show starring your daughter might bring you to tears. tonight we can live a parent's teary eyes of my "nightline" coanchor, byron pitts. >> family's in the car, we're headed eed to longacre theater see robert de niro's "the bronx tale." >> reporter: opening night always special but this is personal. my youngest christiane making her broadway debut. >> my late mother used to say, child, about to break a bra strap, i'm so proud. look at the line. >> congratulations.

chazz palminteri's awe biographic at one-man show that became a classic film of the '90s starring robert de niro. >> that's bad money. >> reporter: a young boy caught between the love of his father and admiration of a local mob boss sonny. >> leave my son alone, please. >> hey. don't you see how i treat that kid? i treat that kid like he's my son. >> he ain't your son, he's my son. >> this is "a bronx tale." >> reporter: the story timeless and now modernized for broadway. th 1960s the backdrop for a brand-new musical. at the helm, veterans of stage and screen, jerry zax and de niro, taking his first stab at broadway directing. >> you're veterans. are you nervous? opening night? >> i feel good. i hope i'm right. listen, donald trump was el elected, we don't know anything these days. >> any clashes? >> it's an impossible situation we've made work.

think we've been very respectful of each other. >> reporter: the movie set the spotlight on new york's diversity, undertones of status and race. ? boys like him ? >> reporter: translated to stage. >> this relationship between father and son, the man he admires who's not his dad, the issues of race and interracial couples, talk about those moral dilemmas. >> people are not -- nobody's all black, all white, it's just not that way. >> so you're saying that donald trump has some redeeming -- >> again, and it's -- in essence, i am saying that possibly i give him the benefit of the doubt. you know, that's a fair thing to do. >> he's a punk. he's a dog. >> reporter: de niro had strong words for the candidate before the election. as part of the vote your future campaign. >> do you regret at all the video clip?

really meant them or not, that affects people. then somebody has to say no. the same to you. i said, you said you want to punch people in the days? i want to punch you in the face, how do you like that, how's that feel? that's all. that's simple. >> yeah. >> but now he's the president, you know. he said all those horrible things and i can't tell him, what, are you kidding? now he's got to grow up and be the president. >> that's the way he was in rehearsal with me, unbeli scenes backstage to meet some of the stars. >> this is our stage. this is where we enter from stage right. >> reporter: tony-nominated nick cordero playing sonny, a mobster's mobster. ? treat them well but not too well ? >> we have to get creative with how everything is stored. here we are barging into the hair and wig room. all keeps of hairy wiggery. sonny takes this kid under his wing, teaches him about the real world, how things aren't always

and what kind of a man do you want to be, do you want to live in love or do you want to live in fear? ? you want to know what to give them the answer ain't love it's fear ? >> sonny's clearly made a choice of fear is his motivator. >> as you know, post-election, america is a divided nation. where does "a bronx tale" fit do you think? >> it's interesting, i read a review on our play that said that if this show had opened last season, it might be a but now, given the election, it seems a little morrell. i think we're all being asked that question. is it better to live in fear or in love? >> reporter: we swing by and meet the lead of the show. >> hey, how are you? >> reporter: bobby conte thornton, who plays "c," his first role on broadway, 24 years old. >> how is it when you walk out on that stage? >> it's fun now. because my longest stage partner is essentially the audience for the show. and so it's immediately

they're kind of looking for. >> reporter: an embarrassing father, i couldn't help but say hi to chris. >> does it seem real? >> it does. the place is real, the people are real. but it's still the dream. and it still feels like there's so much further to go. >> do you appreciate what a gift you all have been for the young actors in the show? >> it's the best. i mean, i love them. we get them to pay attention and to appreciate how privileged they are to be doing a broadway >> gary's a great jewish mother. >> that's right, i am. i am. ? >> reporter: outside, after opening night, i couldn't stop beaming. we are shamelessly giddy. >> shamelessly giddy! >> a great poem by jebron, says parenting, what you hope to do as parenting, is that you're the bow and the child is the arrow, you point them as high as you can. >> reporter: as my family has

fortunate never end. >> hey! congratulations. >> thank you. don't cry again. there's nothing like it. >> reporter: for "nightline," i'm byron pitts in new york. up next, a date that will live in infamy. our tribute, remembering pearl harbor. when cold and flu hold you back

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finally tonight, we mark the 75th anniversary of the infamous attack on pearl harbor with an medication by abc's graphic artist kevin by abc editor joel hershon. >> december 7th, 1941. nearly an hour before dawn, a fleet of 353 aircraft takes off from four aircraft carriers. positioned 132 miles off the coast of oahu. the mission is known simply as "operation z." 7:55 a.m. a dark swarm appears on the

fort island and battleship row are the first to go. 8:00 a.m. bombs rain from the morning sky. striking the "nevada," "arizona," "tennessee." in less than five minutes, seven of the eight ships are either damaged or destroyed. 8:06 a.m. miles above, a nakajima b-5-m releases four direct hits from across the deck of the "uss arizona." nine minutes later the burning battleship lists and sinks, taking with her 1,177 lives. 8:55 a.m. the second wave begins. 167 additional japanese aircraft join the attack. but this time the american anti-aircraft defense is strong.

dogfight above the fiery landscape. it was over in less than two hours. 2,403 americans lost their lives. another 1,178 sustained injuries. >> unfathomable loss. in memoriam, we remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. thanks for as always we're online at abcnews.com and our "nightline" facebook page. >> to win on this show, you need three things: brains, guts, and an industrial-strength antiperspirant. you ready? let's play "who wants to be a millionaire." [dramatic music] ? ? hey, everybody. welcome to the show. are you guys ready to play "millionaire" today? [cheers and applause] receiving perfect scores on both

year, we're gonna continue to put our returning contestant to the test on this stage. from berwyn, pennsylvania, please welcome back steve odabashian. [cheers and applause] what's up, dude? >> hey. [laughs] >> i thought since you already had $50,000, you were just gonna take off, just run, just get out of here. >> whoo. >> welcome back. >> thanks for having me. >> impressive, so sats, acts, just ace 'em, no problem. >> either i do, or i am very very close, close as you can get. >> wow, about how many times have you taken all of these tests combined? >> probably, like, not counting high school and... >> right. >> grade school and stuff like that, probably, like, eight times. >> wow, impressive. well, so far, you've pretty much aced this test. >> yeah. >> you're at $50,000. >> wow, yeah. wow. [laughs] >> just 4 questions away from $1 million. [cheers and applause] and being on that threshold,