Donald Trump’s presidential campaign on Tuesday rejected the support of a Ku Klux Klan newspaper that all but endorsed the Republican nominee in its latest issue.
The Crusader, a KKK-affiliated quarterly that calls itself “the premier voice of the white resistance,” devoted its most recent front page to an article in defense of Mr. Trump. The article was written by Pastor Thomas Robb, the national director of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and a pastor at the Christian Revival Center.
” ’Make America Great Again!’ It is a slogan that has been repeatedly used by Donald Trump in his campaign for the presidency,” Mr. Robb wrote alongside a photograph of the White House hopeful prominently featured above the fold. “You can see it on the shirts, buttons, posters and ball caps such as the one being worn here by Trump speaking at a recent rally. … But can it happen? Can America really be great again? This is what we will soon find out!”
“America was great not because of what our forefathers did — but because of who our forefathers were. America was founded as a White Christian Republic. And as a White Christian Republic it became great,” he added.
The Crusader isn’t formally endorsing Mr. Trump for president, but the author of the article said it supports Mr. Trump’s “nationalist views and his words about shutting down the border to illegal aliens.”
“It’s not an endorsement because, like anybody, there’s things you disagree with. But he kind of reflects what’s happening throughout the world. There seems to be a surge of nationalism worldwide as nationals reclaim their borders,” Mr. Robb told The Washington Post this week.
The Trump campaign condemned the publication in a statement Tuesday evening as news spread of the front-page feature.
“Mr. Trump and the campaign denounces hate in any form. This publication is repulsive and their views do not represent the tens of millions of Americans who are uniting behind our campaign,” it said in a statement.
Mr. Trump drew criticism in February when he did not immediately denounce the support of David Duke, a former Klansman official who later served as a Republican representative in the Louisiana state legislature and is currently running for U.S. Senate. Mr. Duke formerly held the title of Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan before he left the group in the 1980s and his successor, Mr. Robb, changed it to national director.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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