Former KKK leader David Duke praises Trump for his 'courage'
William CummingsThere was a storm of negative reaction to President Trump's news conference Tuesday in which he said both the white supremacists and counter-protesters were responsible for the violence that broke out in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday.
Among two voices that spoke out loudly in defense of the president's remarks: Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke and white supremacist figurehead Richard Spencer.
"Thank you President Trump for your honesty & courage to tell the truth about #Charlottesville & condemn the leftist terrorists in BLM/Antifa," Duke tweeted after the news conference.
Spencer said Trump "cares about the truth" and said Trump's "statement was fair and down to earth."
Spencer and Duke were present at the protest in Charlottesville. At that rally, Duke explicitly tied the white supremacist movement to Trump.
"We are determined to take our country back," Duke said Saturday. "We are going to fulfill the promise of Donald Trump. That's what we believe in. That's why we voted for Donald Trump, because he said he's going to take our country back."
But Monday, Duke expressed strong disappointment after Trump's speech denouncing white supremacist groups.
"I would recommend you take a good look in the mirror & remember it was White Americans who put you in the presidency, not radical leftists," Duke tweeted.
Duke also posted a more than 45-minute rambling video response Monday to Trump's condemnation of racist groups.
"To get elected today you can't really speak straightforwardly and totally honestly. If you do you're going to be crucified," Duke said as he explained that he understood why Trump felt he needed to condemn white supremacists.
"You had to come out and say I condemn all these people," Duke said. "President Trump please, for God's sake, don't feel like you've got to say these things. It's not going to do you any good. They hate you."
Duke also went on an anti-Semitic tirade about the media and called what happened in Charlottesville a "criminal conspiracy" in which white supremacists were "set up" to be attacked by the counter protesters.
"Well, our people defended themselves and some people went too far, obviously," Duke said.
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Notable moments from President Trump's defense of his Charlottesville statement
