It turns out that the image posted to Twitter on Tuesday was actually taken election day and not the following morning, and had no connection to the Klan, though demonstrators were wearing the hoods and cloaks associated with the group.
The reality-television star bested his opponent Hillary Clinton in North Carolina by five percentage points.
Trump had to distance himself from the Klan on a few occasions during his campaign, receiving the endorsement of former Klan head David Duke, and having a homophobic and racist robocall sent out in Utah by white nationalist William Johnson. The Crusader, a Klan newspaper, printed a glowing endorsement of the real estate magnate as well.
The Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan’s website features phrases like "Trump’s Race United My People" and rebukes the term "hate group."
"We do not hate any group of people!" the site reads. "However, we do hate some things that certain groups are doing to our race and our nation. We hate drugs, homosexuality, abortion and race-mixing, because these things go against God's law and they are destroying all white nations. But rather than focus on hate, we try to focus on the love of our race. The Love for our Lord and Savior and our Country."
