Highlights:
Trump: “You Know What I Am? I’m A Nationalist. Okay?” According to Politico, “President Donald Trump on Monday evening proudly asserted that he is a ‘nationalist’ — a designation some of his fiercest critics have previously wielded against him as an attack on what they deem nativist policy pursuits by his administration. ‘You know, they have a word, it sort of became old-fashioned. It’s called a nationalist,’ Trump said at a campaign event in Houston, where he rallied voters to support Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in November’s midterm elections. ‘And I say, ‘Really? We’re not supposed to use that word,’ Trump continued. ‘You know what I am? I’m a nationalist. OK? I’m a nationalist.’” [Politico, 10/22/18]
2015: Washington Post: Trump’s Candidacy “Electrified” The White Nationalist Movement. According to the Washington Post, “In addition to opening ‘a door to conversation,’ she said, Trump’s surging candidacy has done something else: It has electrified some members of the movement. ‘They like the overall momentum of his rallies and his campaign,’ Pendergraft said. ‘They like that he’s not willing to back down. He says what he believes and he stands on that.’” [Washington Post, 12/21/15]
National Organizer For The “Knights Party,” A Standard-Bearer For Ku Klux Klan, Said Trump Was A Great Conversation Starter To Talk About White Nationalism. According to the Washington Post, “Making friends is no easy task for modern white nationalists. In an era of gay marriage and a black president, more than a half-century after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 became law, separatists can’t exactly swan dive into conversations with strangers about the white-power cause. But Rachel Pendergraft — the national organizer for the Knights Party, a standard-bearer for the Ku Klux Klan — told The Washington Post that the KKK, for one, has a new conversation starter at its disposal. You might call it a ‘Trump card.’ It involves, say, walking into a coffee shop or sitting on a train while carrying a newspaper with a Donald Trump headline. The Republican presidential candidate, Pendergraft told The Post, has become a great outreach tool, providing separatists with an easy way to start a conversation about issues that are important to the dying white supremacist movement. ‘One of the things that our organization really stresses with our membership is we want them to educate themselves on issues, but we also want them to be able to learn how to open up a conversation with other people,’ Pendergraft said.” [Washington Post, 12/21/15]
2017: While Attending The White Supremacist Rally In Charlottesville, VA, Duke Insisted The Event, Represented Fulfilling The Promise Of Trump. According to The Hill, “Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke appeared at the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, Va., prior to Saturday’s violent clashes, saying that the event represented fulfilling the promises of President Trump. ‘This represents a turning point for the people of this country. We are determined to take our country back, we’re going to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump, and 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 and that’s what we gotta do,’ Duke said. The former KKK grand wizard’s comments came as the protestors and counter-protesters at the racially charged event, which attracted white supremacists and neo-Nazis, clashed violently.” [Hill, 8/12/17]
Duke Praised Trump For His “Honesty And Courage” Following Trump’s Comments On Charlottesville. According to CNN, “Here’s what you need to know about President Donald Trump’s wild news conference Tuesday: It drew the immediate praise of David Duke. The President’s abrupt and belligerent about-face Tuesday, in which he lashed out at the media for mischaracterizing white supremacist protesters in Charlottesville, drew the swift condemnation of a number of lawmakers, including Republicans, and shocked the people who witnessed them. But one person who was very happy with the words of the US President was the former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke, who just as quickly reacted on Twitter, thanking the President ‘for your honesty and courage.’ ‘Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa,’ was the full tweet from an account that is not verified by Twitter but appears to represent Duke and features videos apparently posted by and of him.” [CNN, 8/15/17]
Trump’s Passive Refusal To Directly Confront Or Denounce Racism Earned Him The Support Of White Nationalist. According to Time, “Asked by TIME in 2015 if his campaign rhetoric could lead to innocent people getting hurt, he responded, ‘People are getting hurt far greater than something I am going to say.’ That zero-sum view of the big political questions of the day—the suggestion that one group of people loses if another wins—is a theme of his worldview, featured in his approach to illegal immigration, crime and international trade. It has also been interpreted by many white nationalists as a partial endorsement of their views, despite Trump’s past denunciations of racism. ‘The arrow of Donald Trump is pointing in the direction of identity politics, and I think that’s a very, very good thing,’ Spencer said shortly after the inauguration, in a radio interview.” [Time, 8/12/17]
June 2020: Trump Retweeted A Video Of A Supporter Yelling “White Power!” According to the New York Times, “President Trump on Sunday retweeted a video of one of his supporters yelling ‘White power!,’ once again using the vast reach of his social media platforms to inflame racial divisions in a nation roiled by weeks of protests about police brutality against black people and demands for social justice reforms.” [New York Times, 6/28/20]
Trump Retweeted The Video And Thanked “The Great People Of The Villages.” According to the New York Times, “The president retweeted the video to his millions of followers just after 7:30 a.m., thanking ‘the great people of The Villages,’ the Florida retirement community where the clash apparently took place. He added: ‘The Radical Left Do Nothing Democrats will Fall in the Fall. Corrupt Joe is shot. See you soon!!!’” [New York Times, 6/28/20]
2021: Duke Said Trump Owed Him Credit After Taking His Ideas About “White Replacement” Mainstream. According to MSNBC, “Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke says former President Donald Trump and Fox News host Tucker Carlson owe him credit after taking his racist ideas about ‘white replacement’ to the mainstream. In October, the liberal watchdog group Media Matters shared audio clips from Duke’s podcast (yes, even he has a podcast) in which the former KKK grand wizard boasted that his own failed political campaigns inspired ideas Trump championed during his presidency.” [MSNBC, 10/20/21]
2016: KKK Grand Wizard David Duke Endorsed Trump. According to the Independent, “After heartily endorsing Mr Trump for president in 2016, Mr Duke has supported the president ever since. Attending the infamous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, he told an interviewer that the march was a celebration of what Mr Trump intended to do for the US.” [Independent, 7/9/20]
Trump Refused To Condemn Endorsements From White Supremacists And David Duke While On CNN. According to NPR, “On the Sunday morning talk shows, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump refused to condemn endorsements from a prominent white supremacist and former KKK leader, and said he retweeted a Mussolini quote because ‘it's a very good quote.’ The extended conversation about white supremacists came on CNN's State of the Union, where Jake Tapper asked if Trump would distance himself from an endorsement by David Duke, former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. Duke has told his radio audience that voting against Trump would be ‘treason to your heritage.’ Trump refused to condemn that endorsement or say he didn't want the support of white supremacists — four times. ‘I don't know anything about David Duke. I don't know what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacist. I don't know. I don't know, did he endorse me, or what's going on?’ he said. That prompted a back-and-forth that went, in part:” [NPR, 2/28/16]
Trump Subsequently Tweeted Video In Which He Had Said He Disavowed Support At Press Conference. According to NPR, “Not long after, Trump tweeted out a video of him being asked about Duke's support on Friday, at a news conference where he received the support of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. In the video from Friday, Trump said, ‘I disavow.’” [NPR, 2/28/16]
2000: Trump Cited Duke As A Reason For Not Wanting The Reform Party’s Nomination. According to NPR, “As several people swiftly pointed out on Twitter, Trump hasn't always claimed ignorance of David Duke as he did on CNN this morning. In 2000, when he ended his presidential campaign, Trump cited Duke's participation in the Reform Party as one reason he no longer wanted the party's nomination. ‘The Reform Party now includes a Klansman, Mr. Duke, a neo-Nazi, Mr. [Pat][ Buchanan, and a communist, Ms. [Lenora] Fulani. This is not company I wish to keep,’ he wrote in his statement.” [NPR, 2/28/16]
July 2020: Duke Endorsed Trump’s Re-Election. According to the Independent, “David Duke, one of the US’s most notorious racist extremists, has reiterated his support for Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and suggested the president replace his current vice president, Mike Pence, with Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Mr Duke is a renowned neo-Nazi antisemite and white supremacist who founded a Ku Klux Klan chapter in the early 1970s; since then, he has unsuccessfully run for office several times and endorsed various extremist figures and causes.” [Independent, 7/9/20]
SPLC Referred To Spencer As “One Of The Country’s Most Successful Young White Nationalist Leaders.” According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “As head of the National Policy Institute, Richard Spencer is one of the country’s most successful young white nationalist leaders — a suit-and-tie version of the white supremacists of old, a kind of professional racist in khakis. Spencer has been credited with creating the term ‘alt-right.’” [Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed 1/19/24]
Spencer Was A Vocal Advocate For Trump’s 2016 Presidential Election. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, Spencer was a vocal advocate for Donald Trump due to his signature proposal to build a wall along the United States border with Mexico and his racist statements referring to Mexicans as criminals and rapists.” [Southern Poverty Law Center, 6/25/20]
After The Election, Spencer Gave A Toast Saying, “Hail Trump” To Which Some In The Crowd Gave Stiff Arm Salutes. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, “Only days after Trump’s surprising victory over Hillary Clinton, the NPI held its fall conference on November 19, 2016, in Washington, D.C. In what he later described as a moment of exuberance, Spencer, flush with victory, offered the toast, ‘Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!’ to the nearly 200 attendees. He was met with a handful of stiff-armed salutes from the crowd. The gesture electrified the more radical sectors of the white supremacy movement while generating stern disappointment from some of its elder statesmen, including Jared Taylor.” [Southern Poverty Law Center, 6/25/20]
Spencer, Who Organized The “Unite The Right” Rally, Asserted That The Event “Would Not Have Occurred Without Trump.” According to The Hill, “White nationalist leader Richard Spencer said the ‘Unite the Right’ rally that took place in Charlottesville, Va., in August of 2017 ‘would not have occurred without Trump’ becoming president. Spencer, the organizer of the rally and a white nationalist leader who coined the term ‘alt-right,’ made the remarks to The Atlantic in a broader piece published Tuesday detailing what the magazine titled ‘An Oral History of Trump’s Bigotry.’ ‘There is no question that Charlottesville wouldn’t have occurred without Trump,’ Spencer said. ‘It really was because of his campaign and this new potential for a nationalist candidate who was resonating with the public in a very intense way.’ Spencer added in The Atlantic piece that the ‘alt-right found something in Trump.’ ‘He changed the paradigm and made this kind of public presence of the alt-right possible,’ he said.” [Hill, 5/14/19]
Spencer And Duke Were Part Of The Protesters In Charlottesville. According to Time, “Trump’s partners in the Republican Party were more pointed in their condemnations of the protesters in Charlottesville, which featured rallies that included chants of ‘white lives matter,’ ‘end immigration, one people, one nation’ and, according to the New York Times, both ‘you will not replace us’ as well as ‘Jew will not replace us.’ The protestors had gathered to denounce the planned removal of a Confederate general statue from a city park. It was attended by David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader, and Richard Spencer of the National Policy Institute, both of whom support creating an all-white ethnic-state in the United States. Spencer speculated on Twitter that Trump’s earlier call to ‘condemn all that hate stands for’ was a condemnation not of the white nationalists, but the anti-facist counter protesters opposing their rally.” [Time, 8/12/17]
Trump Tweeted Condemning “Hate.” According to Time, “The protestors had gathered to denounce the planned removal of a Confederate general statue from a city park. It was attended by David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader, and Richard Spencer of the National Policy Institute, both of whom support creating an all-white ethnic-state in the United States. Spencer speculated on Twitter that Trump’s earlier call to ‘condemn all that hate stands for’ was a condemnation not of the white nationalists, but the anti-facist counter protesters opposing their rally.” [Time, 8/12/17]
Spencer Tweeted That Trump’s Condemnation Was Not Directed Towards White Nationalists, But Their Counter Protesters. According to Time, “The protestors had gathered to denounce the planned removal of a Confederate general statue from a city park. It was attended by David Duke, a former Ku Klux Klan leader, and Richard Spencer of the National Policy Institute, both of whom support creating an all-white ethnic-state in the United States. Spencer speculated on Twitter that Trump’s earlier call to ‘condemn all that hate stands for’ was a condemnation not of the white nationalists, but the anti-facist counter protesters opposing their rally.” [Time, 8/12/17]
November 2022: Trump Had Dinner With Kayne West And Prominent Anti-Semite And Racist Nick Fuentes. According to the New York Times, “Former President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday night had dinner with Nick Fuentes, an outspoken antisemite and racist who is one of the country’s most prominent young white supremacists, at Mr. Trump’s private club in Florida, advisers to Mr. Trump conceded on Friday. Also at the dinner was the performer Kanye West, who has also been denounced for making antisemitic statements. Mr. West traveled to meet with Mr. Trump at the club, Mar-a-Lago, and brought Mr. Fuentes along, the advisers said. The fourth attendee at the four-person dinner, Karen Giorno — a veteran political operative who worked on Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign as his state director in Florida — also confirmed that Mr. Fuentes was there. Attempts to reach Mr. Fuentes through an intermediary on Friday were unsuccessful.” [New York Times, 11/25/22]
New York Times: Fuentes Was “One Of The Country’s Most Prominent Young White Supremacists.” According to the New York Times, “Former President Donald J. Trump on Tuesday night had dinner with Nick Fuentes, an outspoken antisemite and racist who is one of the country’s most prominent young white supremacists, at Mr. Trump’s private club in Florida, advisers to Mr. Trump conceded on Friday. Also at the dinner was the performer Kanye West, who has also been denounced for making antisemitic statements. Mr. West traveled to meet with Mr. Trump at the club, Mar-a-Lago, and brought Mr. Fuentes along, the advisers said. The fourth attendee at the four-person dinner, Karen Giorno — a veteran political operative who worked on Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign as his state director in Florida — also confirmed that Mr. Fuentes was there. Attempts to reach Mr. Fuentes through an intermediary on Friday were unsuccessful.” [New York Times, 11/25/22]
Trump Told Nick Fuentes “You’re A Smart Guy.” According to HuffPost, “‘You can’t win!’ Trump yelled at Ye, Montgomery recalled. ‘I have a base of 125 million people! You can’t win.’ Trump looked at Fuentes, urging him, ‘You’ve got to tell him the truth, you’re a smart guy, you’ve got to tell him the truth that he can’t win!’ He told Giorno, ‘Yeah, you’ll get consulting fees off of this, but you’ve got to tell him the truth that he can’t win!’” [Huffpost, 12/2/22]
Sources Said That Trump Refused To Disavow Fuentes After Their Dinner Because He Was Worried He Might Alienate Part Of His Base. According to the Guardian, “Donald Trump repeatedly refused to disavow the outspoken antisemite and white supremacist Nick Fuentes after they spoke over dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort, rejecting the advice from advisers over fears he might alienate a section of his base, two people familiar with the situation said. The former US president was urged publicly and privately to denounce Fuentes in the aftermath of the dinner, which included the performer Ye, previously known as Kanye West, who has also recently been propagating antisemitic remarks. But Trump eschewed making outright disavowals of Fuentes, the people said, and none of the statements from the campaign or on his Truth Social account included criticism of Fuentes, despite efforts from advisers who reached Trump over the Thanksgiving holiday.” [Guardian, 11/28/22]
2023: Trump Wanted His Campaign To High Far-Right, Anti-Muslim Activist Laura Loomer. According to the New York Times, “Former President Donald J. Trump has told aides to hire Laura Loomer, a far-right and anti-Muslim activist with a history of expressing bigoted views, for a campaign role, according to four people familiar with the plans. Mr. Trump met with Ms. Loomer recently and directed advisers to give her a role in support of his candidacy, two of the people familiar with the move said. It is unclear whether she would serve on his campaign or the main super PAC backing his presidential bid. On Tuesday, after Mr. Trump’s arraignment in Manhattan, Ms. Loomer attended the former president’s speech at Mar-a-Lago, his resort and residence in Palm Beach, Fla.” [New York Times, 4/7/23]
Loomer: “Someone Asked Me, ‘Are You Pro-White Nationalism?’ Yes. I’m Pro-White Nationalism.” According to the New York Times, “‘Someone asked me, ‘Are you pro-white nationalism?’ Yes. I’m pro-white nationalism,’ Ms. Loomer said. ‘But there’s a difference between white nationalism and white supremacy. Right? And a lot of liberals and left-wing globalist Marxist Jews don’t understand that.’ She added, ‘So this country really was built as the white Judeo-Christian ethnostate, essentially. Over time, immigration and all these calls for diversity, it’s starting to destroy this country.’ Her remarks on the podcast were brought to light in 2021 by a blog called Angry White Men that tracked white supremacy movements.” [New York Times, 4/7/23]
The Southern Poverty Law Center Designated The Proud Boys A Hate Group For Violent, Nationalist, And Bigoted Views Espoused By Its Members. According to the Anti-Defamation League, “The Proud Boys represent an unconventional strain of American right-wing extremism. While the group can be described as violent, nationalistic, Islamophobic, transphobic and misogynistic, its members represent a range of ethnic backgrounds, and its leaders vehemently protest any allegations of racism. Their founder, Gavin McInnes, went so far as to file a defamation lawsuit against the Southern Poverty Law Center when the SPLC designated the Proud Boys a hate group. In McInnes’ own words, the Proud Boys are a ‘pro-western fraternity,’ essentially a drinking club dedicated to male bonding, socializing and the celebration all things related to western culture. In reality, the Proud Boys bear many of the hallmarks of a gang, and its members have taken part in multiple acts of brutal violence and intimidation.” [Anti-Defamation League, accessed 6/25/20]
The Proud Boys Maintained A Visible Presence In Support Of Trump’s 2020 Reelection Campaign. According to the Palm Beach Post, “Among the sea of red hats and American flags at President Trump’s rallies, the Proud Boys are easy to spot. They are the group of men in black Fred Perry polo shirts with yellow trim, flashing the traditional OK hand signal. They gather outdoors rather than inside arenas at Trump rallies and wherever they can find events sponsored by Democrats and anti-Trump groups. They are rowdy, tattooed and wave some of the largest American and Trump 2020 flags in the crowd. Some use megaphones to broadcast the virtues of their brand of ‘extreme patriotism.’ Antifa, a militant protest movement that opposes fascism and far-right ideology, is the enemy. Depending on your political persuasion and thresh hold for noise and large gatherings of Trump’s most devoted supporters, the Proud Boys are either a violent white supremacist, anti-Muslim hate group or an enthusiastic, patriotic men’s fraternal organization that promotes ‘western chauvinism’ — a Mad Men-esque type of America where Muslims are vilified, housewives are venerated and President Donald Trump is revered.” [Palm Beach Post, 10/9/19]
Federal Prosecutor: Leaders of the Proud Boys Viewed Themselves As Foot Soldiers Fighting For Trump After The 2020 Election. According to the Associated Press, “Ready for ‘all-out war,’ leaders of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group viewed themselves as foot soldiers fighting for Donald Trump as the former president clung to power after the 2020 election, a prosecutor said Monday at the close of a historic trial over the U.S. Capitol insurrection.” [Associated Press, 4/24/23]
The Leader Of The Proud Boys Said Trump’s Campaign Asked Them To Attend Post-Election Rallies
Enrique Tarrio Said In Messages To Proud Boys That The Trump Campaign Asked The Proud Boys To Help After The 2020 Election, And To Appear In Plain Clothes. According to Salon, “Evidence presented in the seditious conspiracy trial against leaders of the white nationalist group the Proud Boys suggests that the group's higher-ups were in communication with the Trump campaign, which urged them to appear at rallies around false claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. News of the evidence was reported on by The Washington Post on Wednesday. Prosecutors showcased communications in which members of the Proud Boys, including its then-leader Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, discussed plans to attend rallies in support of former President Donald Trump. According to Tarrio's messages, which were sent using an encrypted program, the Trump campaign asked the Proud Boys for help in the days after the election, when the results were called for now-President Joe Biden. The campaign asked the Proud Boys to attend rallies and to appear indistinguishable from other rally-goers, rather than wearing their traditional black and yellow garb.” [Salon, 3/3/23]
Leaders Of The Proud Boys Were Accused Of Plotting To Forcibly Stop The Transfer Of Power. According to the Associated Press, “After more than three months of testimony, jurors began hearing attorneys’ closing arguments in the seditious conspiracy case accusing Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio and four lieutenants of plotting to forcibly stop the transfer of power from Trump to President Joe Biden.” [Associated Press, 4/24/23]
Four Former Leaders Of The Proud Boys Were Found Guilty Of Seditious Conspiracy Concerning The January 6 Attack On The Capitol. According to the Washington Post, “On Thursday, former Proud Boys chairman Henry ‘Enrique’ Tarrio and three other leaders of the far-right extremist group were found guilty of seditious conspiracy in the attack on Capitol. The result marked the third decisive victory for the Justice Department in three seditious conspiracy trials held after what it called a historic act of domestic terrorism to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from Trump to Democrat Joe Biden after the 2020 presidential election.” [Washington Post, 5/5/23]
2015: Vice: “The Daily Stormer, Another Prominent Neo-Nazi Site, Formally Endorsed Trump For President.” According to Vice, “In June, the Daily Stormer, another prominent neo-Nazi site, formally endorsed Trump for president. Trump ‘is absolutely the only candidate who is even talking about anything at all that matters,’ wrote Daily Stormer’s founder, Andrew Anglin. ‘[H]e is talking about actual issues, and this is severely important.’” [Vice, 12/13/15]
November 2016: The Crusader, A Ku Klux Klan Newspaper, Endorsed Trump On Its Front Page. According to Reuters, “A Ku Klux Klan newspaper has declared support for Donald Trump's Republican run for U.S. president, saying America became great because it was a white, Christian republic. The Crusader, one of the white supremacist group's most prominent publications, published a lengthy endorsement and defense of Trump's message on the front page of its current issue under the headline: ‘Make America Great Again.’” [Reuters, 11/2/16]