Updated Feb. 17, 2017 10:30am
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN – In the race for Democratic National Committee chair, Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison has been endorsed by former Ku Klux Klan (KKK) leader David Duke.
Running for DNC Chair. pic.twitter.com/bU8SlJeEkh
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 12, 2017
Duke demonstrated his support for the Minnesotan Representative in a series of tweets this week, starting with a response to a Fox News tweet listing the DNC chair candidates.
Keith Ellison, Sally Boynton Brown or Jehmu Greene would all be excellent choices – I really like Keith though… I mean, at least he knows. https://t.co/jXQK1CJEie
— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) February 12, 2017
A Washington Times article reports the reason for Duke’s support of Ellison stems from his belief that Ellison is anti-semetic. Washington Times writer Douglas Ernst states:
“The former leader of the Ku Klux Klan likely complicated Mr. Ellison’s professional goals Monday by backing his efforts while alluding to claims by critics that he is anti-Semitic. The “at least he knows” remark appears to be a reference to Mr. Ellison’s past with the Nation of Islam and comments about Louis Farrakhan. Charges of bigotry, which the congressman denies, have dogged him since he started running for the coveted DNC job.
“If you go back to his positions, his papers, his speeches, the way he has voted, he is clearly an anti-Semite and anti-Israel individual,” Democratic donor Haim Saban said Dec. 2 while at the Brookings Institution’s annual Saban Forum in the nation’s capital, CNN reported. “Words matter and actions matter more. Keith Ellison would be a disaster for the relationship between the Jewish community and the Democratic Party.’”
Duke seemed to double-down on the endorsement by responding to a Daily Caller tweet claiming Duke had endorsed Ellison.
Duke then posted the following tweet:
Voting for these other people, voting against Keith Ellison at this point, is really treason to the principles of the Democratic Party.#MAGA pic.twitter.com/xnI8s6QVrF
— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) February 13, 2017
Conservative speaker and Breitbart Tech Editor Milo Yiannopoulos noted the lack of hysteria by mainstream news outlets about the endorsement:
At that exact moment, journalists at CNN, the Huffington Post and Time.com apparently rushed to their keyboards and wrote about everything except that endorsement.
Unlike when David Duke endorsed then-candidate Donald Trump last year, there were no catchy headlines about the white nationalist “continuing his bromance” with Keith Ellison.
It seems nobody put the fire on Keith Ellison and demanded that he disavow the KKK.
UPDATE: Ellison Responded via Twitter to Duke’s Endorsement
I can’t think of someone I disagree with and reject more than the man who ran that hateful group.
— Rep. Keith Ellison (@keithellison) February 14, 2017
Alpha News contacted Representative Ellison about David Duke’s endorsement but received no response.
Updated Feb. 16, 2017 10:30am
Andrea Mayer-Bruestle
Andrea Mayer-Bruestle is a former writer for Alpha News.
