Yesterday, Republican Party standard-bearer and likely nominee Donald Trump refused to denounce David Duke and the Ku Klux Klan. This is the same Trump that retweets white supremacists and calls Mexican immigrants rapists. Despite all of this, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy recently said he’ll “work with Donald Trump,” and NRCC Chairman Greg Walden embarrassingly compared Trump to Ronald Reagan. Speaker Paul D. Ryan has also pledged to support Trump if he is the nominee.
Over the weekend, vulnerable Congressman Jeff Denham praised Trump for “tapping into an energy that is bringing more people out to vote.”
Unfortunately, this embrace of Trump and his nativist campaign is not that surprising for members of a party that proudly defended their Majority Whip despite his association with David Duke and his white supremacist group.
“Congressman Jeff Denham likes Trump’s ability to tap into new ‘energy’ from voters,” said Barb Solish of the DCCC. “But now that Trump refuses to unequivocally denounce the Ku Klux Klan, is Denham still a fan of the type of new ‘energy’ that Trump is tapping into?”