Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday rejected former Klansman David Duke’s apparent endorsement of her 2020 presidential campaign.
“I have strongly denounced David Duke’s hateful views and his so-called ’support’ multiple times in the past, and reject his support,” Mrs. Gabbard, Hawaii Democrat, said in a statement to The Hill.
Mr. Duke, a former Louisiana lawmaker who served as grand wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in the late 1970s, tweeted a pair of messages Monday morning that appeared to endorse Mrs. Gabbard in seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination in the 2020 presidential election.
“Tulsi Gabbard in 2020,” Mr. Duke wrote. “Finally a candidate for President who will really put America First?
“Tulsi Gabbard is currently the only Presidential candidate who doesn’t want to send White children off to die for Israel,” he wrote in another tweet.
Mr. Duke also changed his Twitter account banner to a picture of Mrs. Gabbard with text that reads, “Tulsi Gabbard for President. Finally a candidate who will actually put America First rather than Israel First!”
In her statement, Mrs. Gabbard’s attacked critics for publicizing the endorsement.
“Publicizing Duke’s so-called ’endorsement’ is meant to distract from my message: that I will end regime-change wars, work to end the new cold war and take us away from the precipice of a nuclear war, which is a greater danger now than ever before,” she said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.