White supremacist leaders have threatened to revolt if President-elect Donald Trump disappoints them. "Alt-right" activists have largely celebrated Trump's surprising election victory, though some have revealed they are disappointed he has appeared to turn his back on some campaign promises.

Since his victory, Trump has softened his stances including a proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US and building a wall along the border with Mexico. Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told CNN on 22 December that the Trump administration would not pursue the Muslim ban solely based on their religion but will instead focus on country of origin.

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"At first he promised to send back every illegal immigrant," Jared Taylor, a white supremacist who runs American Renaissance magazine, told The Guardian. "Now he is waffling on that."

Peter Brimelow, founder of the xenophobic website Vdare.com, said Trump's failure to deliver "important bones" could lead to dissatisfaction among the alt-right. "I think the right of the right is absolutely prepared to revolt. It's what they do," Brimelow said.

However, self-proclaimed Holocaust revisionist and columnist for Taki magazine, David Cole said he can see the movement being trapped in a cycle of in-fighting and online trolling rather than helping to shape policy.

What is the alt-right?

The alt-right is a loose collection of people with far-right views that came into prominence during Donald Trump's election campaign. Many members operating online profess views related to white supremacism, nationalism, anti-feminism and Islamophobia, amongst others. There isn't a defined core ideology to the movement, aside from a rejection of America's mainstream conservatism. Alt-right members generally supported Donald Trump and hailed campaign promises to build a wall along the US-Mexico border and ban Muslims from entering the country.

With the rise of Stephen 'Steve' Bannon, who was appointed as chief strategist and counselor to the president in Trump's White House team, there are fears that the alt-right now has a voice in the Oval Office. Bannon was previously executive chairman of the Breitbart News website, which he once called "a platform for the alt-right".

"In January, Trump will start governing and will have to make compromises. Even small ones will trigger squabbles between the 'alt-right'. 'Trump betrayed us.' 'No, you're betraying us for saying Trump betrayed us.' And so on. The alt-right's appearance of influence will diminish more and more as they start to fight amongst themselves."

All three men agreed that Trump's victory has emboldened the far-right. Brimelow said that the group that chanted "Hail Trump" last month will continue to fight for its beliefs with or without White House help.

"None of them were looking for jobs in the Trump administration," he said. "These are not party loyalists. They know they're entirely outside the establishment consensus. And they're used to guerrilla warfare."

The president-elect denounced white supremacist groups in a November interview with The New York Times. "I don't want to energise the group, and I disavow the group...But it's not a group I want to energise, and if they are energised I want to look into it and find out why," Trump said.