“Wonderful”: Wash. Times Columnist Frank Gaffney Lavishes Praise On White Nationalist Leader

UPDATE (10/1): In a statement posted on its website, the Center for Security Policy said Gaffney now “strongly disagrees” with “much” of the American Renaissance website and “Had due diligence been done beforehand, such disagreements would have resulted in Mr. Taylor not being invited on the show, routine compliments to such guests not made and an offer to appear again not extended.”

ORIGINAL: 

Washington Times columnist Frank Gaffney praised the “wonderful” work of a leading white nationalist during an interview on Gaffney's nationally-syndicated radio program. Republican politicians and conservative media outlets have regularly cited Gaffney as a purported expert on foreign policy despite his long history of extremism.

Gaffney, the founder and president of the Center for Security Policy, has raised questions about President Obama's birth certificate; was banned from the Conservative Political Action Conference after accusing prominent conservatives of somehow being Muslim Brotherhood operatives; and has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as “one of America's most notorious Islamophobes.”

The former Reagan official can now add praising a notorious leader of the white nationalist movement to his resume.

Gaffney hosted Jared Taylor on the September 29 edition of his Secure Freedom Radio program. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which first noted Taylor's appearance, wrote that Taylor is one of the country's “most outspoken and prominent white nationalists.” The non-profit group wrote that Taylor hosts a conference “where racist intellectuals rub shoulders with Klansmen, neo-Nazis and other white supremacists” and “founded the New Century Foundation, a pseudo-intellectual think tank that promotes 'research' arguing for white superiority.”

Gaffney introduced Taylor by saying, “I'm very pleased to have him with us. He is the editor of a wonderful online publication, American Renaissance ... and the author of six books, including White Identity.” The Southern Poverty Law Center wrote that American Renaissance “has been one of the vilest white nationalist publications, often promoting eugenics and blatant anti-black and anti-Latino racists. In 2005 for example, after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Taylor wrote, 'When blacks are left entirely to their own devices, Western Civilization -- any kind of civilization -- disappears.'”

The Anti-Defamation League wrote that Taylor “upholds racial homogeneity as the key to fostering peaceful coexistence,” and they called American Renaissance a “white supremacist journal.”

During the interview, Gaffney and Taylor attacked the “invasion” of Muslim refugees worldwide. Gaffney warned about the alleged dangers of Muslim refugees regarding violence and Sharia law, and later suggested such problems could come to the United States “if President Obama has his way.”

Gaffney concluded by telling Taylor: “I appreciate tremendously the work you're doing at American Renaissance and The New Century Foundation. Keep it up and get back to us again very soon.”

The Center for Security Policy issued a statement to Media Matters claiming that Gaffney “was unfamiliar with Mr. Taylor's views on other matters and did not discuss or endorse them”:

Secure Freedom Radio is a weeknightly talk show program that addresses national security challenges and how they best can be countered.  It features interviews with a wide variety of guests on myriad topics.  Among the guests are individuals with whom the host, Frank Gaffney, and the Center for Security Policy disagree, both on topics discussed in the course of the show and on issues and viewpoints not covered in the course of the interview.  The interview with Jared Taylor addressed exclusively a recent article by him concerning the dire implications for Europe, its people and civilization of large numbers of migrants from nations in which shariah-adherence is the norm.  The host was unfamiliar with Mr. Taylor's views on other matters and did not discuss or endorse them. 

On American Renaissance, Taylor wrote in the comments section about the interview: “I did not expect him to be so positive. It is clear that more and more people are waking up.”* 

Despite his fringe history, Gaffney is still a regular source of information for the conservative media. He works for the Washington Times as a columnist and is a frequent guest on conservative outlets like Fox News.

One of his most noxious theories is that top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin is trying to infiltrate the government on behalf of the Muslim Brotherhood. While several top Republicans have denounced the smear, it has frequently been repeated by Clinton foes. For instance, discredited anti-Clinton author Edward Klein recently cited Gaffney in his book Unlikeable to suggest she works for the Muslim Brotherhood.

Many Republican politicians also have no problem associating with Gaffney. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) appeared in a different segment of the September 29th program, and Gaffney interviewed Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and presidential candidate Ben Carson just this month.

*Paragraph added after posting.