Does Trump Have Ex-Wizard David Duke’s Support, And Is It Magic?

The internet and media outlets all over the place are alight with some variation of ex-wizard and founder of the KKKK (Knights of the Klu Klux Klan), David Duke, putting all of his support behind Presidential hopeful Donald Trump.

Duke, now host of his own radio show among other things, took to the airwaves to discuss the 2016 elections. Having dabbled in some form of politics since the age of 14, it’s no surprise that the now 65-year-old ex-wizard remains vocal when it comes to his beliefs. After founding the KKKK, running for the Louisiana State Senate, a few runs for Presidency, founding the National Association for the Advancement of White People (NAAWP), and running for Louisiana State Governor, he’s given the public a pretty good idea of where his allegiance lies.

In his radio show, Duke threw around a lot of phrasing that was both pointed and non-committed about Donald. What he did praise Trump on were his views on immigration, and really, that should come as no surprise. If there was a topic that would earn David’s support, it would involve immigration and deportation. Buzzfeed was the first outlet to report the story, pulling and quoting the really good stuff from the interview. David Duke used words like “entrepreneur” and “salesman” to describe the Donald while praising his stance on the issue overall.

“I praise the fact that he’s come out on the immigration issue. I’m beginning to get the idea that he’s a good salesman. That he’s an entrepreneur and he has a good sense of what people want to hear what they want to buy. […] And I think he realizes that his path to popularity toward power in the Republican Party is talking about the immigration issue. And he has really said some incredibly great things recently. So whatever his motivation, I don’t give a damn. I really like the fact that he’s speaking out on this greatest immediate threat to the American people.”

As a whole, outlets reporting on David Duke’s support of Trump overlooked one key point.

“So this is a great opportunity. So although we can’t trust him to do what he says, the other Republican candidates won’t even say what he says. So he’s certainly the best of the lot. And he’s certainly somebody that we should get behind in terms, ya know, raising the image of this thing.”

Saying that you can’t trust someone to do what they say doesn’t sound much like support to me. Also, saying that Trump is the best in a lot that he doesn’t view as good enough isn’t exactly a compliment. Duke even went as far as saying that he should be supported in terms of raising the image of immigration, not presidency. His praise of Trump is due to the fact that he is getting people talking about what Duke feels as the most important issue. This isn’t an endorsement of Trump, but rather a cool thumbs up (because he doesn’t trust him enough to get close enough for a pat on the back) for bringing what is, to Duke, the most important issue to the forefront.

On Duke’s own site, he made sure to clear it up saying, “When in fact on my show I specifically and clearly said that I am not at this time endorsing him. CNN is the only news source that reported it accurately!”

Seeing the jokes come out about Trump being supported by a wizard will be a delight, but they will lose a bit of their muster knowing that they are wholly inaccurate. Listen to the whole interview below, or just seek the interesting parts, and chime in. Do you think this was a back handed endorsement by David Duke, or was it more of a reluctant admission of smart decisions?

[Image via SPLC, Southern Poverty Law Center]