David Duke, a former chief of the openly racist Ku Klux Klan group, who got Republican candidate Donald Trump in hot water earlier this year, has announced a bid for the US Senate in Louisiana, amidst brewing racial tensions in the state, following the unjustified police shooting of Alton Sterling and last weekend’s police killing spree, both in the city of Baton Rouge.
Duke fancies himself a "pioneer," and claims Trump, who last year was slow to refute the support of the infamous hate speech proponent, appropriated his "America First" slogan from Duke’s 1992 foray into US politics. Duke staked a claim to the origins of Trump’s political platform as well, adding, "I am overjoyed to see Donald Trump."
The former KKK boss said that he "believes in equal rights for all and respect for all Americans, however what makes me different is that I demand the rights and respect of European Americans." Duke stated that whites "need one man, one man in Congress who will defend their rights and heritage" against what he fears is a "massive immigration and ethnic cleansing of the people whose forefathers created America."
Duke carefully pointed out that his "slogan remains 'America First,'" claiming that he opposes foreign intervention, and that he will "never sell out to the special interests."
Duke, an avowed racist, who once said that American society’s “clear goal must be the advancement of the white race,” cited a New York Times article that, he claims, "admitted that [Duke’s] platform became the Republican mainstream and propelled Republicans to control of Congress."
Much like his inspiration Donald Trump, the former Klan leader claimed a cross-section of the Bernie Sanders electorate as his own – or at least attempted to – by saying that "a revolution is coming in the United States of America. We are going to go against the special interests and change the politics of America."
Duke’s campaign announcement and praise for Trump took a cartoonish turn as he tweeted last night, "Great Trump Speech, America First! Stop Wars! Defeat the Corrupt elites! Protect our Borders! Fair Trade! Couldn’t have said it better!"
David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) July 22, 2016
On Friday, Duke confirmed to many that Trump has “the best words,” and that the former’s xenophobic fantasies are a reflection of a Trump presidency.
