David Duke Touts Himself as ‘Better’ Vice President Pick for Donald Trump

White supremacist leader David Duke Image by YouTube

By Josefin Dolsten July 13, 2016

White supremacist leader David Duke says he would be the “better” vice presidential candidate for Donald Trump, but the former Ku Klux Klan leader admits he is not expecting to get tapped for the Donald’s ticket.

Duke blasted Newt Gingrich, saying he would be “a better pick” than the former Republican House speaker whom Donald Trump is considering as his running mate.

“I had a perfect Republican voting record. If he had me as a VP he would have a life insurance policy,” the former Ku Klux Klan wizard, who served in Louisiana’s House in 1989-1993, told the Daily Beast.

Duke is unhappy with Gingrich for saying that white Americans did not understand the struggles of African Americans following two recent killings of black men by policemen, calling him a “total sellout.”

The white supremacist leader has been a strong supporter of Trump’s candidacy — and a vocal anti-Semite. In May, he said Jewish opposition to Trump showed that Jews are “the real problem” and the “reason why America is not great.” Trump later said he “totally disavows” Duke’s statement.

Duke seemed to imply that Trump’s success was partially due to his work.

“I think Trump is riding a wave of anti-establishment feeling that I’ve been nurturing for 25 years,” he said.

But the white nationalist did not think Trump would be likely to pick him as a running mate, saying, “I don’t see him doing that. That’s just a fantasy.”

Duke also said he was seriously considering running for Congress against Republican Representative Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

“There are millions of people across the country who would like to have me in the Congress. I’d be the only person in Congress openly defending the rights and the heritage of European Americans,” he said, explaining that the recent killing of five white policemen in Dallas by a gunman at a Black Lives Matter protest motivated him to consider challenging Scalise.

Duke has run for office unsuccessfully several times, including in 1999 when he received 19% of votes for a seat in Louisiana’s House.

Contact Josefin Dolsten at [email protected] or on Twitter, @JosefinDolsten

Josefin Dolsten is a New York-based writer who has reported for the Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and other Jewish publications. She currently works as an account director at Fenton Communications, supporting organizations that work to advance racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. Dolsten earned her B.A. in government from Cornell University and her M.A. in comparative religion and Jewish studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO