KKK newspaper The Crusader endorses Donald Trump

By Nathan Guttman November 2, 2016

Even for an endorsement-deprived candidate like Donald Trump, this one was a bit too much.

Hours after receiving the news that the Ku Klux Klan newspaper, The Crusader, endorsed his presidential run, Trump turned it down.

“Mr. Trump and the campaign denounces hate in any form,” a campaign spokesman said in a statement sent to the Forward. “This publication is repulsive and their views do not represent the tens of millions of Americans who are uniting behind our campaign.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The campaign also argued that Trump, his running mate Mike Pence and staffers have denounced any supporters who hold views similar to those of the KKK. In the earlier phases of the campaign, however, Trump retweeted posts from white supremacist sites and was slow to repudiate the support of ex-Klan leader David Duke.

After his rejection of the Ku Klux Klan’s publication’s endorsement, Trump is left, according to a Politico count with only six newspapers nationwide that have endorsed his candidacy. The only major publication among them is Sheldon Adelson’s owned Las Vegas Review Journal.

Trump has attracted significant support from white supremacist individuals and groups who don’t usually embrace national candidates. Earlier in his campaign, he publicly hesitated to disavow this support; for example, in March, he refused to repudiate white supremacist groups, comparing them to Jewish federations and saying he didn’t know enough about them to say anything.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

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

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount