"You wouldn't want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about," Trump said.
Asked on Sunday morning if he would "unequivocally condemn" former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, Donald Trump said he couldn't condemn a group or person he knew nothing about.
Duke, who has expressed support for Trump's candidacy throughout the election, urged his radio listeners last week to volunteer and support Trump, saying a vote against Trump is "treason to your heritage."
Asked to condemn Duke by CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday, Trump said, "I don't know, did he endorse me or what's going on, because, you know, I know nothing about David Duke. I know nothing about white supremacists. And so you're asking me a question that I'm supposed to be talking about people that I know nothing about."
Trump added, "You wouldn't want me to condemn a group that I know nothing about. I would have to look. If you would send me a list of the groups, I will do research on them. And, certainly, I would disavow if I thought there was something wrong."
Tapper then pressed Trump, saying, "I mean, I'm just talking about David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan here."
Trump still refused to condemn, responding, "I don't know any — honestly, I don't know David Duke. I don't believe I have ever met him. I'm pretty sure I didn't meet him. And I just don't know anything about him."
David Duke in 2004.
Burt Steel / ASSOCIATED PRESS
Trump's claim to "know nothing about David Duke" is dubious at best — he cited Duke in 2000 as a reason he would not run for president on the Reform Party ticket.
"The Reform Party now includes a Klansman, Mr. Duke, a neo-Nazi, Mr. Buchanan, and a communist, Ms. Fulani," Trump said that year. "This is not company I wish to keep."
And when asked at his Friday news conference in Texas about Duke's support, Trump said he disavowed it.
"I didn't even know he endorsed me. David Duke endorsed me? I disavow, OK," Trump said.
via BuzzFeed - Politics http://ift.tt/2148L8M
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