Deplorable: Both Candidates On GOP Ticket Reluctant To Condemn White Supremacist

Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:10 pm

As Jason Easley wrote just moments ago, Mike Pence declined to call KKK leader David Duke “deplorable” in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, instead saying that he doesn’t like “name-calling.”

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“I’m not really sure why the media keeps dropping David Duke’s name,” Pence said. “Donald Trump has denounced David Duke repeatedly.”

After being pressed by Blitzer, Pence still refused to call the KKK leader deplorable, saying he’s “not in the name-calling business.”

If you’re keeping score at home, both candidates on the Republican ticket have now refused to make quick and forceful condemnations of a known and proud white supremacist.

Earlier this year, in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Trump also refused to disavow Duke and the KKK, saying, “I know nothing about David Duke. I know nothing about white supremacists.”

Trump went on to say he’d “have to look” into what the KKK was before deciding whether to denounce them.

The Trump campaign, from top to bottom, is often reluctant to denounce open bigots, yet they are almost always eager to throw the kitchen sink at folks who have done nothing wrong: Gold Star families, a judge with a Mexican background, a disabled reporter, and Muslim Americans who just want to live freely and peacefully.

Pretty deplorable, if you ask me.

Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.