Donald Trump refuses to disavow support from David Duke, ex head of Ku Klux Klan
Trump got his weekend off to a golden start when he re-tweeted a quote widely attributed to Benito Mussolini, the founder of fascism. Now he's refusing to cast aside campaign support from none other than David Duke, a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan.
"I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists," an apparently confused Trump told Jake Tapper on CNN's State of the Union.
You May Also Like
"I don't know... did he endorse me? Or what's going on? Because I know nothing about David Duke; I know nothing about white supremacists."
Tapper tried three times to get comment from Trump on Duke's recent support of his presidential bid, and was stonewalled each time. The would-be Republican nominee wants to "look at the group" before passing judgment.
"You wouldn't want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about," Trump said. "If you would send me a list of the groups, I will do research on them and certainly I would disavow if I thought there was something wrong."
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Tapper fired back, expressing disbelief that Trump would be unfamiliar with such a public figure or the hate group he once represented. "I'm just talking about David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan here, but--"
Trump interjected before he could finish: "Honestly, I don't know David Duke. I don't believe I've ever met him. I'm pretty sure I didn't meet him. And I just don't know anything about him."
Tapper's line of questioning came in response to Duke's comments on Feb. 25 that a vote against Trump is "treason to your heritage."
"I’m not saying I endorse everything about Trump," Duke said on Thursday. "In fact, I haven’t formally endorsed him. But I do support his candidacy, and I support voting for him as a strategic action. I hope he does everything we hope he will do."
Trump's refusal to distance himself from Duke during his chat with Tapper is odd, given that he did so already during a Friday news conference in Texas (via Buzzfeed).
"I didn't even know he endorsed me," Trump said at the time. "David Duke endorsed me? I disavow, okay?"
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Republican presidential hopeful Marco Rubio had some choice words to share on Trump's CNN appearance, and his unwillingness to distance himself from Duke.
"Not only is that wrong, it makes him unelectable,” Rubio said Sunday at a capacity crowd in Purcellville, Virginia. "How are we going to grow our party when we have a nominee who wont repudiate the Ku Klux Klan?"
Rubio added that Trump was lying when he said he didn’t know who Duke is.
With additional reporting by Emily Cahn.
UPDATED Feb. 28 12:33 p.m. EST with comments about Trump's Friday, Feb. 26 disavowal of Duke's support.
UPDATED Feb. 28 1:08 p.m. EST with Trump's tweet sharing the video footage of his Duke disavowal.
UPDATED Feb. 28 2:03 p.m. EST with quotes from Marco Rubio.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Topics Donald Trump Elections Politics
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
