"Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!"

Those were the words captured on video from Richard B. Spencer over the weekend, during a speech at a white nationalist gathering of approximately 200 individuals in Washington, D.C. The was recorded by The Atlantic and posted online.

Spencer, a leading member of the so-called alt-right movement, told the crowd that Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. election means a victory for the white race in its supposed struggle to take back a country that "belongs to us."

Some among the cheering crowd of mostly white men were quick to throw up an arm, palm out, in an apparent Nazi salute to Spencer's words. They enthusiastically cheered his speech, as he laid out the "challenges" facing the self-described alt-right movement. They also snickered along with him when he referred to the media using "the original German, lugenpresse" – a popular Nazi term that means "lying press."

And, while Spencer's remarks were delivered in the capital of the United States, many have drawn comparisons to the rhetoric of Nazi-era Germany, amid concerns that individuals from the white nationalist alt-right movement will wield influence over president-elect Donald Trump.

Trump is not believed to be a member of the alt right movement, but he capitalized on many of their beliefs during the election campaign by using what one expert calls "code words" to encourage their support. Trump has also cozied up to several prominent figures in the alt-right, including former Breitbart News head Steve Bannon, who joined Trump's election campaign in August and will now serve as his chief strategist.

"(Trump) has run on a sense of aggrievement and resentment and identity politics, and he's done that through code words and racial dog whistles," Rich Benjamin, author of the book "Searching for Whitopia," told CTV's Your Morning on Tuesday. Benjamin said Trump's plan to build a wall with Mexico, deport illegal immigrants and ban Muslim immigration are just some of those racial dog whistles he used to mobilize resentful white voters.

Now, Trump's victory is being celebrated by a formerly fringe group with racist views, who have some of their own heading into the White House. Benjamin said appointing someone like Bannon "sends a message to (Trump's) base that essentially says, 'I have your back.'"

During his tenure at Breitbart, Bannon spread anti-establishment agendas and conspiracy theories as one of the leading outlets for the alt-right movement. Headlines published under his tenure at the site include:

  • ""
  • ""
  • ""
  • ""
  • ""

Trump has also faced criticism for choosing Jeff Sessions as his attorney general. Sessions was once denied appointment as a federal judge due to racism allegations.

"These people intend to take action with the enormous power that comes with being in the West Wing," Benjamin said. He added that he is "worried" about when Trump takes office, because of how eagerly the alt-right has embraced him.

Nazi fears

The video of Spencer's salute to Trump sparked fears on Tuesday that Nazi ideology is creeping into the United States. Many on Twitter condemned the behaviour, and called for Trump to denounce it. One individual even pointed out that Trump is quick to attack his opponents on Twitter, yet remains silent when it comes to condemning racist groups.

Trump has distanced itself from the white nationalist movement. In an interview with the New York Times on Tuesday, Trump said the alt-right is "not a group I want to energize, and if they are energized I want to look into it an find out why." He has also said in an earlier interview that people attacking minorities in the U.S. should "stop it."

However, he has not attacked the issue with the zest he has shown in his criticism of Saturday Night Live, the cast of "Hamilton" or the New York Times.

Social media users also took issue with the term "alt-right," suggesting it’s a politically correct way to refer to something much more insidious.

Benjamin echoed that view in his conversation with CTV's Your Morning.

"A pig could put lipstick on itself. It's still a pig," he said. Benjamin explained that no matter what the movement calls itself, "it stands for core values which are about having a hostile, discriminatory attitude toward others you disagree with." But he also dismissed questions about what to call the alt right, saying that "we shouldn't be distracted by the code language of this."