Trump Calls For an End to Violence in VA, But Doesn’t Condemn the White Supremacists

Anyone who thinks that white supremacists and the racism they espouse are a thing of the past can officially STFU. On Saturday a “Unite the Right” rally erupted into violence as they were met with counter-protesters. The rally was organized by avowed white supremacists seeking to preserve a statue commemorating Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Among their ranks were members of the KKK and the racist alt-right. They proudly expressed their bigotry with chants of “blood and soil,” “white lives matter,” and “Jews will not replace us.”

Trump Charlotsville

The event quickly degenerated into chaos as the marchers assaulted the counter-protesters. Peaceful citizens opposed to the hate groups were beaten with poles and, in one case, run over by a car. At the time of this writing there is one confirmed fatality.

The rioting racists continued their rampage for hours without any comment from Donald Trump. Despite the brazen acts of terrorism, Trump couldn’t tear himself away from his vacation at his luxury golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, long enough to condemn the rioters. But when he finally did make a comment – on Twitter of course – it might have been better if he had kept his mouth shut:

That’s a very carefully crafted comment that fails to attribute responsibility to the hostile bigots who initiated the assaults. It’s a vague repudiation of violence that could be interpreted as directed at the counter-protesters. And it is abhorrent to suggest that America needs to unite with the sort of vile trash who advocate white supremacy.

If that weren’t bad enough, Trump appeared at a photo-op for a Veterans Administration announcement and made things even worse. In a brief statement he affirmed his position that the fault for the violence in Charlotsville should be assigned to both sides:

“We condemn in the strongest possible terms this egregious display of hatred, bigotry, and violence on many sides, on many sides”

Any moral observer of these events would recognize that there is only one side here responsible for the hatred and violence. But Trump is obviously afraid of offending his supporters among the white nationalist, alt-right crowd. He benefited from the support of racists throughout his campaign and well into his presidency. And he is too cowardly to risk losing their support by condemning the obviously guilty parties.

One of his staunchest supporters is David Duke, a former KKK Grand Dragon. Duke made an appearance at the Charlotsville event and had this to say about the riots and his hero in the White House:

“This represents a turning point for the people of this country. We are determined to take our country back. We are going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump. That’s what we believed in. That’s why we voted for Donald Trump. Because he said he’s going to take our country back.”

That pretty much says it all. And Trump’s mealy-mouthed public comment is proof that Duke, and the rest of the right-wing hate mongers, got just what they voted for. They now have a president whose own bigotry and weakness allows prejudice to flourish. It’s a dream come true for haters, but a nightmare for Americans who care about one another.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
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House Democrats Fired Up: Demand Trump Dump Alt-Right, White Nationalist Stephen Bannon

As America recovers from the shock of Donald Trump’s unexpected victory, the framework of his administration is beginning to materialize. Unfortunately, the first steps do not inspire much confidence in his managerial skills. For his chief of staff, Trump chose Reince Priebus, a political operative, rather than the experienced government administrator the job requires.

Trump/Bannon

More troubling, though, is his appointment of Stephen Bannon as senior advisor and chief strategist. Bannon is the chairman of Breitbart News, which he described as the “platform for the alt-right.” It appeals to the organized racist and white nationalist movement that has endorsed Trump. Prominent hate groups and leaders, like former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke, have praised the selection of Bannon. Rocky Suhayda, chairman of the American Nazi Party, told CNN that “Perhaps The Donald is for real.” Many white supremacists are celebrating Bannon as evidence that Trump is going to execute their abhorrent agenda. Not surprisingly, Fox News is celebrating too.

The good news is that Democrats in Congress are not sitting still for it. A letter circulated by Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) is demanding that “President-elect Donald Trump rescind his appointment of alt-right leader Steve Bannon as White House Chief Strategist.” As of Thursday morning the letter had 169 signatures of House Democrats who agree that Bannon is unacceptable. The letter says in part:

“Immediately following your victory, many Americans were optimistic and hopeful that you would take the steps necessary to unify our country following the divisive and contentious election. In your election night speech you said, ‘Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division. It is time for us to come together as one united people.’ Unfortunately, your appointment of Stephen Bannon, whose ties to the White Nationalist movement have been well-documented, directly undermines your ability to unite the country. […]

“Since the election there have been a number of incidents across the country in which minorities, including Muslim Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Jewish Americans, have been the targets of violence, harassment and intimidation. Mr. Bannon’s appointment sends the wrong message to people who have engaged in those types of activities, indicating that they will not only be tolerated, but endorsed by your Administration.”

Stephen Bannon represents the worst of American prejudice and is a throwback to an era of lynchings and cross-burnings. Even if Trump asserts that he does not support racist hate groups, he has to question why they are lock-step in support of him. Could it be something he said? Or the people with whom he surrounds himself? These are questions any conscientious person would seek to answer. If Trump wants the nation to believe that he will enforce civil rights for all, he needs to dump Bannon. Because putting a racist in the office next his in the White House won’t bring the country together.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

WATCH: Racist Icon David Duke Announces Senate Run With Praise For Donald Trump

Now that Donald Trump has officially become the nominee of the Republican Party for president, the election season can shift some focus to down ballot races for governors and Congress. One such race is the senate seat being vacated by prostitute patron David Vitter in Louisiana. Among the throng of hopefuls for the seat we can now add former Klan leader David Duke.

David Duke

What makes Duke’s candidacy notable is the inspiration he cites for throwing his white, pointy hat in the ring. In a video launching his campaign (below), Duke says “I’m overjoyed to see Donald Trump and most Americans embrace most of the issues that I’ve championed for years. My slogan remains ‘America First.’” His argument for electing him is that he would be the one person in Congress looking out for white, Christian Europeans. Well, except for the other 80% of the members of Congress.

The Louisiana Republican party said that Duke is “a hate-filled fraud who does not embody the values of the GOP.” However, there is no disputing that Duke is running on Trump’s coattails with a nearly identical platform. He has endorsed Trump for president and was impressed with his acceptance speech tweeting “Great Trump Speech, America First! Stop Wars! Defeat the Corrupt elites! Protect our Borders!, Fair Trade! Couldn’t have said it better!” That’s high praise. Trump must be proud that he is so perfectly articulating the hopes and dreams of one America’s leading white supremacists.

In addition to being inspired by Trump, Duke takes some credit for inspiring Trump’s ascendancy in the Republican Party. Earlier this month when he first floated his interest in running for office, Duke bragged that “I’ve said everything that Donald Trump is saying and more. I think Trump is riding a wave of anti-establishment feeling that I’ve been nurturing for 25 years.”

He may have a point. Trump is rather new to the bigots banquet, at least so far as assuming a public role in the movement is concerned. But he has risen rapidly and succeeded in corralling a broad measure of support from the racist rank and file. Last year Politico reported that:

“The Ku Klux Klan is using Donald Trump as a talking point in its outreach efforts. Stormfront, the most prominent American white supremacist website, is upgrading its servers in part to cope with a Trump traffic spike. And former Louisiana Rep. David Duke reports that the businessman has given more Americans cover to speak out loud about white nationalism than at any time since his own political campaigns in the 1990s.”

Indeed, Trump is making it easier for avowed racists to come out of the closet and profess their bigotry with pride. Let’s call it “The Trump Effect.” It begins with his willingness to retweet racist memes and comments from blatant white supremacists. And he scores more points for failing to disassociate himself from racist supporters, or for only doing so after being criticized. And even then without much conviction.

Trump, of course, denies that he is racist. But if you are being heralded by racists and neo-Nazis, at some point a conscientious person would want to know what it is they are doing that is attracting such a repulsive contingent of cretins. Trump’s supporters and the Republican Party ought to be asking themselves the same questions.

Having conquered the Republican primary, Trump has thrown the door wide open for racists who used to be reticent about going public to actually seek public office. They now have carte blanche to advertise their biases with some confidence that they can attract votes, at least within the GOP. That’s the distasteful opportunity that the Trump Effect has created for David Duke and others like him.

UPDATE: Trump just announced that he might vote for Duke:

“Mr Trump was asked if he would support a Democrat over Mr Duke if it was necessary to defeat him, Mr Trump replied: “I guess, depending on who the Democrat is.”

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

Racist Hate Group Leader David Duke Explores Run For Congress On Donald Trump’s Coattails

The fallout from running a transparently racist campaign for president continues to dog Donald Trump. The overtly hateful rhetoric that is a staple of Trump’s daily dialogue has resulted in his winning the support of the nation’s most prominent white supremacist groups.

Donald Trump Effect

Trump has also been caught retweeting white supremacists and spreading their vile messages. The organized racist movement in America has been forthright in celebrating Trump’s candidacy as a boon to their cause. As Politico reported in December:

“The Ku Klux Klan is using Donald Trump as a talking point in its outreach efforts. Stormfront, the most prominent American white supremacist website, is upgrading its servers in part to cope with a Trump traffic spike. And former Louisiana Rep. David Duke reports that the businessman has given more Americans cover to speak out loud about white nationalism than at any time since his own political campaigns in the 1990s.”

Indeed, Trump is making it easier for avowed racists to come out of the closet and profess their bigotry with pride. Let’s call it “The Trump Effect.” One of those taking advantage of Trump’s fouling of the political environment is former KKK leader, and current white supremacist, David Duke. The Daily Beast is reporting that:

“The former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and ex-candidate for Louisiana governor told The Daily Beast he is heavily leaning towards challenging Rep. Steve Scalise. Scalise is the No. 3 Republican in the House who reportedly once called himself ‘David Duke without the baggage’ and spoke at a white nationalist group that Duke founded.”

Duke explained that his motivation for running is to become “the only person in Congress openly defending the rights and the heritage of European Americans.” Because, in Dukes mangled mind, whites of European descent are such a beleaguered minority in Congress. He further cited Donald Trump as an inspiration for his campaign and himself as a source of inspiration for Trump:

“I’ve said everything that Donald Trump is saying and more,” he said. “I think Trump is riding a wave of anti-establishment feeling that I’ve been nurturing for 25 years.”

There is some truth to that, and it is why Duke and his peers in racist communities are uniting around Trump. As for Trump, he has taken some widely diverging stances on David Duke. Earlier this year, after Duke officially endorsed Trump, he was asked whether he would condemn Duke and disavow the endorsement. Trump’s answer was a muddled melange of feigned ignorance:

“Well just so you understand, I don’t know anything about David Duke, OK? I don’t know anything about what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. So, I don’t know. I don’t know, did he endorse me, or what’s going on? Because, you know, I know nothing about David Duke. I know nothing about white supremacists. And so you’re asking me a question that I’m supposed to be talking about people that I know nothing about.”

In that short and babbling statement Trump said “I don’t know” or “I know nothing” seven times. That admission of idiocy is a peculiar defense for not distancing himself from renowned bigots. After all, what more would you need to know about white supremacists, other than that they are white supremacists, in order to condemn them and reject their support?

What’s worse is that Trump’s answer was a flat out lie. Half a year prior to this Trump was asked about Duke in an interview with Bloomberg News and he didn’t have any problem identifying him. He even offered a soft rebuke telling the reporter that he would repudiate Duke “if that would make you feel better.” Notice that the repudiation was not a sincere expression of disapproval, but a sarcastic swipe at the reporter.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

With Trump’s success in the Republican primary he has opened the door for other like-minded racists to seek public office. Not that there weren’t already many doing so. But they now have carte blanche to advertise their biases and still attract votes, at least within the GOP. And that is the opening that David Duke is exploiting. He has Trump to thank for it and, in a way, so does everyone else. At least the racist slimeballs running for office might be more honest about their prejudices and voters will be better able to identify and reject them.

Proud Racist Donald Trump Just Can’t Quit His KKK Supporters – Or Quit Lying About Them

The campaign of Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for president has been littered with racial prejudice and animus from the day he announced his candidacy. What’s remarkably unique about Trump is that conventional politicians, when confronted with allegations of racism, will deny the charges and defend themselves as unbiased. Needless to say, Trump is not conventional, but his tolerance of white supremacists goes way beyond his phony claims to political independence. In fact, he is openly enabling the white supremacist movement.

Donald Trump

Today on CNN’s State of the Union, Trump was interviewed by Jake Tapper who asked him about former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke’s endorsement of his candidacy. Tapper specifically inquired as to whether Trump would “unequivocally condemn David Duke and say that you don’t want his vote or that of other white supremacists in this election?” Trump answered saying that…

“Well just so you understand, I don’t know anything about David Duke, OK? I don’t know anything about what you’re even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. So, I don’t know. I don’t know, did he endorse me, or what’s going on? Because, you know, I know nothing about David Duke. I know nothing about white supremacists. And so you’re asking me a question that I’m supposed to be talking about people that I know nothing about.”

In that short and babbling statement Trump said “I don’t know” or “I know nothing” seven times. That might have been the most honest he’s ever been about himself, if it weren’t for the fact that he’s lying, something he does with pathological zeal (see the Trump Bullshitopedia). First of all, why would you need to know anything about white supremacists, other than that they are white supremacists, in order to say that you condemn them and don’t want their votes? What more does Trump need to know about them to repudiate their bigotry?

More to the point, Trump’s desperately repeated denials contradict his prior statements about David Duke. Way back in August of last year Trump was asked by Bloomberg News reporters about Duke’s endorsement and he responded saying that…

“I don’t need his endorsement; I certainly wouldn’t want his endorsement.”

Well, apparently Trump knew who Duke was after all. At least he knew last August, and he frequently boasts that he has “the best memory in the world.” At that time Trump’s response as to whether he would repudiate the endorsement was “Sure, I would if that would make you feel better.” So his “repudiation” was only an attempt to satisfy what he sarcastically thought the reporters wanted, not a sincere expression of disapproval. And the obvious explanation for that is that he doesn’t disapprove. His whole campaign is proof that he seeks out and embraces the support of avowed bigots.

News Corpse has documented prior statements by Trump that affirm, if not his racist pride, at least his acceptance of the label. On one occasion he pointedly refused to deny that he is “a racist and a neo-fascist.” And then there was the time that he said that he is “not bothered by comparisons to Hitler.” What’s more, Trump’s Twitter feed is jam-packed with racist comments and retweets, including a blatantly obvious hate monger named WhiteGenocideTM. Even today Trump retweeted approvingly a quote by the fascist dictator Mussolini from a Twitter user named IlDuce2016.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

This embrace of of the most repellent brand of hate mongering and the leading proponents of white supremacy is unprecedented in mainstream American politics. The Republican Party ought to take a stand and banish Trump from their ranks. However, that will probably not happen because the GOP has been harboring these racists for decades. They believe that these hate groups are critical to their electoral competitiveness, and they’re right. Trump did not create the affinity between the GOP and the KKK, he is merely saying out loud what they have always stood for.

Update 2/29/16: Trump is now piling lies on top of lies. In an interview today on NBC’s Today Show, Trump tried to blame his failure to disavow Duke on CNN’s “very bad earpiece.” He said…

“I’m sitting in a house in Florida, with a very bad earpiece that they gave me, and you could hardly hear what he was saying. What I heard was ‘various groups.’”

If you re-read the his response above, he explicitly mentioned David Duke and white supremacists several times. It could not be more clear that he heard every word of the question and responded to it with specificity. At no time in the interview did he appear to have had trouble hearing this or any other question. This excuse is not only brazenly dishonest, it is pathetically lame.

Bill O’Reilly’s Shameful Suck-Up To White Supremacist David Duke

The brand new Republican Majority Whip, Steve Scalise, is still sweating out the controversy over his having spoken to a white supremacist organization as a candidate for office in Louisiana. The tale has taken some twists and turns with criticism coming from both Democrats and Republicans. Sean Hannity of Fox News even went so far as to call for the resignation of GOP Speaker John Boehner for defending Scalise.

The worst thing that can come of this melodrama is for it to lead to an increased media presence for David Duke, the overtly racist leader of the group to which Scalise spoke. But that is precisely what is happening. Duke first appeared on CNN with Michael Smerconish in a debate that provided little to no news value. And now, Bill O’Reilly added to Duke’s PR campaign by inviting him on to participate in a typical O’Reilly shouting match aimed more at producing ratings rather than knowledge. (Video below)

Bill O'Reilly - David Duke

However, what really made the O’Reilly segment disturbing is that O’Reilly spent most of it agreeing with Duke and took great pains to avoid calling him a white supremacist. Each time that the conversation provided an opportunity for O’Reilly to properly label Duke, O’Reilly seemed to chicken out in mid-sentence. For instance, there was this cowardly utterance by O’Reilly:

“Don’t sit there and tell me you’re not a white … your organization isn’t looking out for the white European race.”

What made O’Reilly stop short just as he was about to say “white supremacist,” and instead use the very words that Duke uses to describe himself? Duke’s entire phony persona is one of an advocate for the rights of European Americans who is not opposed to anyone else’s rights. Of course, the historical record, rampant with bigotry against blacks and Jews, shows that he is lying. So why did O’Reilly help to advance that facade? It gave Duke the opportunity to respond saying…

“I’m looking out for the rights of all Americans. I also believe that European-Americans shouldn’t be discriminated against in jobs or scholarships or any other way.”

To which O’Reilly responded “Yeah, alright,” in effect agreeing with Duke. That shouldn’t surprise anyone because it is a position that O’Reilly has taken himself as a long-standing opponent of affirmative action.

And that wasn’t the only time in the interview that O’Reilly agreed with Duke. Later Duke tried to make a derogatory association between the late Nelson Mandela and President Obama, implying that the President had affiliated himself with communists. There also, O’Reilly agreed and even bragged that he had reported that. Then Duke complained that the media had not reported Mandela’s alleged communist ties (which is false), which O’Reilly also agreed with saying “That’s because there’s sympathetic (sic) in the mainstream media for the left.” Duke replied “Exactly.”

If it isn’t bad enough that O’Reilly continually agreed with Duke, he made things worse by demonstrating a profound ignorance of culture and history. Duke asserted that he loved his (white) people and wanted to preserve his heritage. This confused O’Reilly and led to this idiotic exchange:

O’Reilly: Preserve your heritage? What does that mean?
Duke: You don’t know what European heritage is? You don’t know what Mozart is, and Bach, and Beethoven?
O’Reilly: They’re people. They come from different countries.

Indeed, they are people. O’Reilly nailed that one. However, they are all European people, and Mozart and Beethoven are both from the same country, Germany. Bach was from neighboring Austria (as was Hitler), but spent most of his professional life in Germany (as did Hitler). Duke did not raise these particular people accidentally, and O’Reilly managed to embarrass himself by his ignorance. Furthermore, O’Reilly didn’t bother to repudiate Duke’s closing comments that illustrated his antisemitism. However, he did take another opportunity to weasel out of calling Duke what he is:

“The one thing you said – I wanna get everybody on board with this – is that Congressman Scalise was scheduled – I’m not gonna say white supremacist – but he was scheduled to speak to your group.”

What is that O’Reilly finds so difficult about calling Duke a white supremacist? Why even bother to have him on the program if you’re going to let him off the hook? And how could O’Reilly find so many areas of agreement with him? The real question that all of this raises is: What does this say about Bill O’Reilly?

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Glenn Beck, David Duke, And Occupy Wall Street

Glenn Beck spent a good chunk of his morning radio program today lambasting the Occupy Wall Street movement. It’s a pastime that he has become obsessed with, and his obsession grows every day as OWS gets stronger and garners more support from the American people. Today’s tirade centered on the news that former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke said something nice about OWS.

Duke: “I cheer the men and women on the streets condemning international banks that hold America hostage. […] Finally Americans are rising up and it feels great.”

Duke’s remarks were focused on the movement’s opposition to giant, multinational banks and the power that they wield. While the protesters are concerned that a small minority of wealthy individuals and corporations have an inordinate amount of influence over our society and government, in Duke’s acutely bigoted brain that means Jewish domination of world finance. The two parties could not be further apart. OWS wants fairness for all and democratic rule. Duke wants all Jews stripped of their status and deported – or worse.

Beck made much of Duke’s commentary and concluded that the unsolicited and unwelcome “endorsement” proved that the Occupiers were anti-Semites aligned with Duke’s repulsive agenda. What then would Beck have to say about Duke’s endorsement of the Tea Party?

Duke: “The Tea Party movement is a great sign that the people are finally waking up.”

Obviously Duke seeks to latch onto any convenient movement in order to promote himself. Self-promotion is an endeavor with which Beck should be well acquainted and it’s something he has in common with Duke.

Furthermore, if anyone has a commonality of purpose with Duke, it’s Beck. They both hate New York and all it represents. Last February Beck said that Reform Jews are “almost like…radicalized Islam.” In January he produced a program in which he listed the nine people whom he said most contributed to the 20th century being the Era of the Big Lie. Eight of them just happened to be Jewish. His attacks on George Soros as a tyrannical “Puppet Master,” (another common derogatory insult aimed at Jews), are infamous. And Beck has even perpetuated the intentionally incendiary allegation that Jews killed Jesus. He has been denounced by the Anti-Defamation League for his “bigoted ignorance.” And who can forget his complaint that President Obama “has a deep-seated hatred for white people.”

The fact that Beck didn’t know about Duke’s easily discoverable affinity for the Tea Party is typical of his lazy, fact-free practice of character assassination. But what’s worse is that the Duke video that Beck posted on his own web site, TheBlaze, featured this picture of a Tea Partier while Duke was praising those who protested Wall Street:

David Duke Tea Party

Did Beck even bother to watch the video he posted? Or is he just so fixated on slandering his enemies that he doesn’t care that he looks like an idiot? He certainly doesn’t have much respect for the intelligence of his audience, but at least so far as that’s concerned, he has good reason.