White nationalists already losing faith in Trump

                                       

 The alt-right is having a falling out -- in some ways with their President-elect, but in perhaps even more instances with each other.

And it comes on the eve of an alt-right inaugural celebration called the DeploraBall -- a play off of Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables" campaign remark.

Look no further than the white nationalist who coined the term alt-right, Richard Spencer. He's the same man who stood at a podium shortly after Donald Trump's election and, in a video that went viral, shouted "Hail Trump!" while several in the crowd celebrated the victory with a Nazi salute.

But listen to him now, you'll notice a marked shift in tone when speaking of the man who will become the 45th President of the United States.

"I have described it as the morning-after period. We got euphoric and a little drunk on success," Spencer, director of the white nationalist think tank National Policy Institute, told CNN. "I am getting worried that he won't work on really big important issues like immigration -- that he'll get caught up on little things like making fun of people on Twitter."

Some others in the alt-right are starting to wonder if Trump is really their guy. They've become increasingly critical of his Cabinet picks, and the fact that he's admitted that Russia did in fact engage in hacking leading up to the election.

Last month, Spencer even tweeted, "The #AltRight was aligned with the Trump cheerleaders for 2016. That period is over."

But whether Spencer agrees with Trump or not, his "Hail Trump" speech has had a major impact on the alt-right. Since video of it emerged, there's been a split of alt-righters who believe the neo-Nazi rhetoric has hurt their own cause.

So now, they're feuding among themselves -- some of them distancing themselves from the alt-right label, although many of the extreme nationalist views remain.

"There is a major division going on," Spencer said. "I feel like there's this overreaction to Hail-gate, as we're calling it. Some people overreacted and allowed the mainstream media to set the rules for the game."

Spencer is a white nationalist who believes that there should be a "peaceful ethnic cleansing," where people who are not of European descent voluntarily leave the United States.

He says he briefly entertained a run for the US House seat from Montana expected to be open when Rep. Ryan Zinke is confirmed as Trump's interior secretary. Spencer said he decided against it, although that doesn't mean he has any intention of sitting things out. He said he is planning to purchase a house in Washington, where he plans to hold events and create a video production studio.

Compiled by Chris Welch, CNN