Pence Refuses To Call Trump Supporter Duke “Deplorable” After Clinton Criticism

Clinton Said Some Trump Supporters Can Be Put Into “The Basket Of Deplorables.” During a September 9 event, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton said that “to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables,” referring to people with bigoted views whom Trump has uplifted. Clinton later said she regretted using the figure “half,” but affirmed that the Republican presidential nominee has given a platform to people with deplorable views, specifically citing “David Duke and other white supremacists.” [Media Matters, 9/10/16; HillaryClinton.com, 9/10/16]  

Mike Pence Refused To Call David Duke “Deplorable.” In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence -- Trump's running mate -- refused to call former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke “deplorable.”

WOLF BLITZER (HOST): There are some supporters of Donald Trump and Mike Pence who -- David Duke, for example, some other white nationalists -- who would fit into that category of deplorables, right?

GOV. MIKE PENCE: As I’ve told you last time I was on, I'm not really sure why the media keeps dropping David Duke's name. Donald Trump has denounced David Duke repeatedly. We don't want his support and we don't want the support of people who think like him.

BLITZER: Well, you would call him a deplorable? You would call him deplorable?

PENCE: No, I'm not in the name-calling business, Wolf. You know me better than that. What Hillary Clinton did Friday night was shocking. The millions of people who support Donald Trump around this country are not a basket of anything. They are Americans, and they deserve the respect of the Democratic nominee for president of the United States. [CNN, The Situation Room, 9/12/16]

The “Alt-Right”/White Nationalist Movement And The Trump Campaign Have Formed A Mutual Admiration Society. The so-called “alt-right” is a faction of the conservative media that’s attempting to rebrand classic white nationalism and that opposes diversity and immigration. Members of the “alt-right” and white nationalist movement have been heavily supporting Trump’s presidential campaign. Meanwhile, Trump and his campaign have engaged in a courtship with white nationalists that includes appearing on white nationalist programs, refusing to denounce them, and retweeting their accounts. That effort has taken on new life with Trump's hiring of Breitbart News chief Stephen Bannon, who has called his site “the platform for the alt-right.” [Media Matters, 8/18/16, 8/25/16]

White Nationalists React: Pence A “Solid Guy,” “Good To See,” “Bravo!”

David Duke: “It’s Good To See An Individual Like Pence And Others Start To Reject This Absolute Controlled Media.” Radio host and former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke told BuzzFeed that Pence’s refusal to call him deplorable was “good to see”:

“It’s good to see an individual like Pence and others start to reject this absolute controlled media,” Duke told BuzzFeed News. “The truth is that the Republican Party in Louisiana — I received the vast majority of Republican votes for United States senator before and for governor before that in my state. The truth is the Republican Party is big tent. I served in the Republican caucus. I was in the Republican caucus in the legislature. I had a perfect Republican voting record. It’s ridiculous that they attack me because of my involvement in that nonviolent Klan four decades ago.” [BuzzFeed, 9/12/16]

Duke: “I Defend White People From” Clinton’s “Hate.” Duke reacted to the Pence news by claiming CNN host Wolf Blitzer is an “AIPAC [American Israel Public Affairs Committee] AGENT” and arguing that he defends whites from “hate”:

Wolf Blitzer demands that Pense call me “Deplorable” and he refuses.. Wolfie boy, still upset that I outed you on CNN as an AIPAC AGENT?

— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) September 13, 2016

Of course, I'm “deplorable” according to media, Hillary and the rest of the neoCommies and NeoCons, I defend white people from their hate!

— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) September 13, 2016

[Twitter.com, 9/12/16, 9/13/16]

White Nationalist Radio Host James Edwards: “Bravo!” James Edwards is the host of the “pro-white” radio program The Political Cesspool. Edwards is a David Duke acolyte and he “has probably done more than any of his contemporaries on the American radical right to publicly promote neo-Nazis, Holocaust deniers, raging anti-Semites and other extremists," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Edwards has written: “For blacks in the Americas, slavery is the greatest thing that ever happened to them. Unfortunately, it's the worst thing that ever happened to white Americans”; “MLK's dream is our nightmare”; and “Interracial sex is white genocide.” He tweeted of Pence:

Mike Pence refuses to play #LyingMedia's game; won't call @DrDavidDuke “deplorable”. Bravo!https://t.co/fDYezNymai

— James Edwards (@JamesEdwardsTPC) September 13, 2016

[Media Matters, 7/24/16; Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed 9/13/16; Twitter.com, 9/12/16]

Neo-Nazi Website Daily Stormer: “Trump Chose A Solid Guy To Back Him Up, It Seems.” The Daily Stormer is a neo-Nazi website that celebrates Adolf Hitler and purports to document the “Jewish Problem” and attacks “kikes.” Writer “Zeiger” argued that “you have to salute [Pence’s] obstinate refusal to cuck," and concluded that he’s a “solid guy”:

Is Pence a secret shitlord? I dunno. Probably not.

But you have to salute his obstinate refusal to cuck, here.

Trump chose a solid guy to back him up, it seems.

A lot of career politicians would have panicked at this kind of question and reflexively gone full-cuck. He maintained his composure, all things considered.

[...]

Yeah, this comment is semi-cucky, but he’s just reflecting the message established earlier by Trump himself. Basically, he said he doesn’t want Duke’s endorsement. On the other hand when asked if he would support a Democrat running against Duke, Trump said “it would depend on the Democrat.” This enraged the liberals.

The basic tactic here is that the Trump campaign defiantly refuses to bend the knee to media demands to apologize or denounce his supporters, and then makes low-key, insincere-sounding statements to disavow Duke (or whoever). [Southern Poverty Law Center, 3/10/15; Daily Stormer, 9/13/16]

Neo-Nazi Website Infostormer: “Evil Jew Wolf Blitzer Who Spreads Lies And Bull Shit On The Kike Run Network Of CNN.” Infostormer is a pro-Trump website that is virulently anti-Semitic and celebrates Nazis. It states that it is dedicated to “destroying Jewish tyranny.” It reacted to the CNN interview by writing that “evil Jew Wolf Blitzer” “spreads lies and bull shit on the kike run network of CNN” and said attempting to link “Duke to Trump is a failing strategy. That’s OK though. I hope they keep doing it. It just means that Duke will be Louisiana’s next Senator and Trump will be President”:

These Jews are not very smart individuals. The evil Jew Wolf Blitzer who spreads lies and bull shit on the kike run network of CNN, attempted to get Donald Trump’s VP running mate Mike Pence to call David Duke “deplorable.”

After failing to get Pence to label Duke as “deplorable,” Duke’s name became a trending subject on Twitter lol.

As of now, Duke is the #7 trending topic on the site.

These Jews don’t seem to understand that linking Duke to Trump is a failing strategy. That’s OK though. I hope they keep doing it. It just means that Duke will be Louisiana’s next Senator and Trump will be President. [Infostormer, 9/12/16]