Donald Trump Won't Condemn KKK, Says He 'Knows Nothing About White Supremacists' Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump signs autographs for supporters at the conclusion of a rally at Millington Regional Jetport on Saturday in Millington, Tenn. Michael B. Thomas/AFP/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Michael B. Thomas/AFP/Getty Images Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump signs autographs for supporters at the conclusion of a rally at Millington Regional Jetport on Saturday in Millington, Tenn. Michael B. On the Sunday morning talk shows, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump refused to condemn endorsements from a prominent white supremacist and former KKK leader, and said he retweeted a Mussolini quote because "it's a very good quote. " The extended conversation about white supremacists came on CNN's State of the Union, where Jake Tapper asked if Trump would distance himself from an endorsement by David Duke, former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
"I don't know anything about David Duke. You can watch the full exchange here. KKK Leader Finds Donald Trump a Great Recruiting Tool. Donald Trump is inspiring white supremacists, according to a national organizer of a leading Ku Klux Klan group — and his candid rhetoric is being used to recruit more of them. The KKK is using the Republican presidential frontrunner as an outreach tool, Rachel Pendergraft, the national membership coordinator for the Knights Party, told The Washington Post.
Trump’s candidacy, which has been characterized by often divisive nativist rhetoric, has “electrified” some members, the newspaper reported Monday. “They like the overall momentum of his rallies and his campaign,” Pendergraft said. “They like that he’s not willing to back down. He says what he believes and he stands on that.” The KKK organizer said the group uses the headlines Trump makes to start conversations with separatists about issues that are important to the white supremacist movement. [Washington Post] David Duke: Voting against Donald Trump is 'treason to your heritage'
David Duke, a white nationalist and former Klu Klux Klan grand wizard, told his audience Wednesday that voting for anyone besides Donald Trump “is really treason to your heritage.” “Voting for these people, voting against Donald Trump at this point, is really treason to your heritage,” Duke said on the David Duke Radio Program. BuzzFeed News first reported the comments. Story Continued Below "I’m not saying I endorse everything about Trump. In fact, I haven’t formally endorsed him. But I do support his candidacy, and I support voting for him as a strategic action.
The former Louisiana representative told listeners to start volunteering for Trump. “And I am telling you that it is your job now to get active. In December, Duke told POLITICO that Trump’s candidacy allows Americans to be more open about their racial animus. Donald Trump’s long history of racism, from the 1970s to 2016, explained. It’s been said again and again throughout the 2016 campaign: Donald Trump is a racist. But it's not just the Trump campaign. Trump has been criticized for being racist for much of his career: The first time Trump appeared in the pages of the New York Times, as my colleague Dara Lind reported, was when the US Department of Justice sued him for racial discrimination.
Since then, he has repeatedly appeared in newspaper pages across the world as he inspired more similar controversies. This long history is important. But when you take all of Trump’s actions and comments, a clear pattern emerges — one that suggests that bigotry is not just campaign opportunism on Trump’s part but a real element of Trump’s personality, character, and career. Let’s break down Trump’s history of racism, his recent campaign comments, and what exactly they mean. Trump has a long history of racist controversies Art Zelin/Getty Images But when you put all these events together, a clear pattern emerges.
Is Donald Trump A Modern-Day George Wallace? Presidential candidate George Wallace reaches out for the hands of his supporters at the Texas State Convention of his American Independent Party, Dallas, Sept. 17, 1968. PhotoQuest/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption PhotoQuest/Getty Images Presidential candidate George Wallace reaches out for the hands of his supporters at the Texas State Convention of his American Independent Party, Dallas, Sept. 17, 1968. PhotoQuest/Getty Images Donald Trump's enduring appeal in the Republican presidential contest has the GOP in a quandary, as it's forced to contend with voters fed up with party politics. Some 50 years ago, another vociferous candidate put the scare in traditional power brokers. When Wallace entered presidential politics in 1964, the then-Alabama governor was famous for declaring, "Segregation now.
Wallace allies and family see parallels today in Trump. "It's just a replay," Charlie Snider, one of Wallace's most trusted political aides, told NPR. Snider is a Trump supporter.