take david duke.eekend in charlottesville and supported trump's candidacy early on. >> did he endorse me or what's going on? i know nothing about david duke. i know nothing about white supremacists. >> reporter: but trump did know about david duke. he had spoken about him as early as 1991, shortly after duke had an successful but surprisingly strong run for governor of louisiana. >> the david duke thing, did it bother you? 55% of the whites in louisiana voted for him. >> i guess it shows there's a lot of hostility in this country. >> reporter: in july of 2016, trump tweeted this picture of hillary clinton against a background of dollar bills which came from a white supremacist message board. he called it a creation of the dishonest media. >> it's a star! and it actually looks like a sheriff's star, but i don't know. >> reporter: not long after, he weathered scathing criticism from clinton, who said he was embracing the alt-right linked to white supremacy, anti-feminism and xenophobia. >> of course, th

he said, disavow david duke? okay, i will disavow david duke. ben, to you. >> look.is a guy that i'm not -- we have to stop covering and talking about a sick and vile disgusting human being like david duke. the only reason he gets on tv, the only reason he was on camera yesterday is because he tries to align himself with somebody that will then make it a controversy, that will then get him on tv. so i'm tired of david duke. i don't know why any of us give him a platform to then -- that may be fine 150 white supremacists, extremist crazy that might come around him. david duke is one of the no disgusting human beings in this country. we need to stop covering david duke because all it does is help him recruit people. now, i want to get back to something the president said at this press conference. when the president came out and said both sides, he had seen the videos. he knew there was violence that had happened on both sides. his simple boy poipoint was thi. he had just talked to the governor and made it clear there was a state of emergency declared in that state and,

let's be very clear, donald trump does not support david duke, david duke is crazy, okay, i just wantread, you know, kristin just touched on this, but david duke actually tweet today donald trump in response to his tweet about we all must be united, et cetera, i would recommend you take a good look in the mirror and remember it was white americans who put you in the presidency, not radical leftist so after decades of white house americans or white americans rather being targeted for discriminated and antiwhite hatred, we come together as a people and you attack us, what is he talking about? the president is not attacking anyone group here, whether it's anti-- if it's at-left or alt-left, basically the hate on both sides is not condemned by the white house. what more does the president need to say or do in order to try to fix this? >> you know, i think the president needs to be more forceful, during the campaign he used a lot of code language when he talked about making america great again, talking about taking our country back, language that back no nixon southern strategy, language t

i disavowed david duke.'ve been doing it now for two weeks, you're probably about the 18th person that's asked me the question. i didn't even know he endorsed me, david duke adores me? i disavowed. he announced his senate candidacy claiming your agenda, glad that you spoke out. newt gingrich said every republican is repeating. >> president trump: rebukes, done. >> president trump: i disavowed him every time i speak to somebody and they just keep it going, they keep it going. >> how would you characterize in more words than one david duke? >> president trump: he's a bad person who i disavowed on numerous occasions over the years. i disavowed him, i disavowed the kkk, digested "the today show" it was the same thing. how many times do i have to disavow quartz market you want me to do it again for the 12 time? >> president trump: how many times do i have to reject? i reject david duke, have rejected david duke, i've rejected the kkk in the ku klux klan. from the time i'm five years old i rejected them. >> what d

david duke endorsed me? okay. all right. i disavow. i don't know anything about david duke, okay? know what you're talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. i know who he is but i never met david duke. >> so, congressman in 2016, he didn't know anything about david duke but if you rewind the clock to 2000 with matt lauer he was very clear, david duke is a bigot, a racist. he's a problem. but why do you think that that means that he's now evolved and come around to share some sort of sympathy or like mindedness with david duke? couldn't it just be as simple as he thinks those folks who support david duke are part of his base and support him? >> well, then what difference does it actually make, right? the fact is that if he really believes them and is a true believer or if he is just opportunistically exploiting them to support him, the net effect is people who fought the nazis, people who fought the klan, who are stand iing up for core american values still end up getting hurt and diminished in the process. i mean, i'm talking about the pragmatic effect of the presi

>> if it walks like a david duke duck, it might be a david duke duck.ind but i do know he keeps using these dog whistles. they can be used by cynics who actually aren't racist deep in their heart but simply want the benefits of playing one on tv. and of course they can be used with real racists like david duke, too. i don't know where he is on that spectrum but he needs to get off that spectrum and get back in tuk with regular american people. you know, here in our state, we've had two vicious had crimes at least and it's hurt everybody. you see officers grieving. and now in virginia, we have, you know, we have officers grieving, we have families grieving. we have three people who are dead. this president needs to man up and actually live up to his responsibilities as president and be a president for all of us. this issue of hate really should not have to be a debate. he can actually pull us forward and move and, you know, help us all move forward but for that he's going to have to have a change of heart in public. >> okay, just wanted to say in all fai

i don't care about david duke. david duke is a vile, disgusting human being. i don't think he should have a voice, i don't think he has a voice to that many people and we shouldn't give him a megaphone when he says bigoted and racist things. he is a disgusting human being. let's stop letting him play us by saying i'm going to talk about donald trump and then all of a sudden, we give him a podium to somehow maybe reach another three or four or 500 racist white people in this country. >> but the president did not call out david duke's the kkk white nationalist, white supremacist. >> he's made it very clear during the campaign, he said i'm not david duke. i don't like him. i don't know him. i don't want to be part of him. >> but, forget david duke. we are talking about this movement, the people who are emboldened right now to have a rally like this. to ram a car into a crowd of people. ana navarro, what is your take? >> at least donald trump said something. there's been so many acts of violence that he's remained silent. so at least he has said, but what he said

>> i don't want to criticize the president but i will criticize david duke. >> kelly: and it wasn't meant criticism, but more of how most we help the president as well as others move forward in dealing with issues like david do? >> ultimately it's about civics lessons. i've worked with chad peterson to make sure kids in schools understood what made his greatest nation. the ability to sit down, discussion a shoe disagree and then go have dinner. so your that makes us special. it is so heartbreaking again in the shadow of the home of the drafter of the declaration that said all men are created equal, that this garbage would happen in 2017 at the behest of whoever, the terminology i would use is not appropriate for television, but they need to get out of my home and not know where they should go other than hell. there's no place for them in america where we know we should judge one another based on content of character not color of skin. >> kelly: to continue on what you're saying about thomas jefferson and the declaration of independence is that we been given inalienable rights. so any talk

you wouldn't want me to condemn a group that i know nothing about. >> nothing about david duke. well, he clearly knew who he was back this 2000 when trump specifically condemned duke as a racist and a bigot. watch this. >> what do you see as the biggest problem with the reform party right now? >> well, you've got david duke just joined. a bigot, a racist, a problem. this is not exactly the people you want in your party. >> this president seems to have a tactic, when he doesn't want to deal with the racial issues of a racist himself, david duke, he has a problem of memory. he did it before. i didn't know duke was there. i don't even know who he is. oh, yes, i did 17 years ago when i talked about the bigot in the race. this is a guy very uncomfortable with the situation he's in. >> well, more important to me is the failure of moral leadership. when george herbert walker bush was will president of the united states, he had no bones about condemning him. he wouldn't support him. he wouldn't endorse him. he said he didn't want him in the republican party. so donald trump does have sel

the president is getting it from both side including david duke.id duke has been at this rally you will day long and he is responsible for inciting this violence and pinning president trump to it when he has nothing to do with it. one of his many treats, after decades of white americans being targeted for discrimination and anti-white hatred, we come together as a people and you attack us? >> one of the problems that when confronted with some of these same issues during the election campaign, donald trump seemed reticent to distance himself from these people and claim they support them. you are not necessarily responsible for who supports you. but you can make a strong statement when people in the public eye are claiming that they support you or have supported you and they are doing -- their actions are partly in response to your win as president. i don't think any time white supremacists say something about donald trump that the president needs to respond. but what happened today was not a normal thing. when you have david duke who again -- you ha

, -- trump was hit with a statement about david duke, he doesn't know what david duke said. it's not like he has a hotline to him. would, he would say i had to get a handle on this. it is interesting how we can allow a seasoned politician who is probably better at the dance to dodge that kind of guilt association, saying i do not know about that and will have to get back to you about it. i appreciate your point. if someone says to you, someone says he likes you and you don't have evidence of that, you will want to gather that info. host: danny from silver spring, maryland. republican line. caller: i want to talk about the taking down of the monuments. you know who else likes to take down statues and stuff? isis. they love to destroy statues. and erase the past. down the statues opens up a wound in the south. it is like the second humiliation of the south. when theyhumiliated lost of the war and now they are getting humiliated again. lincoln wanted to unify the south and heal them. taking down the statues doesn't heal anybody. he is absolutely right. it lincoln said, these ar

david duke is not lashing out at present trump on twitter. he read one of his tweets, here's another. people were peacefully simply an attack by the same radical leftist who attacked your supporters. peacefully assembling does not necessarily describe what doug has been covering. now we heard about this car accident there were getting more information about, whether it was intentional or not, could've been that the driver was trying to defend itself by objects being thrown at the car, nonetheless, it's a mess and peacefully assembling is not a way to describe this. the president, by the way during the campaign trail let's go back to somewhere trying to pin this on the president and calling it his fault because the people who voted for him feel empowered by him. back in november, eric trump said that do, and this is a quote, deserves a bullet. is that friendly language between the trump administration and david do? no. what more can the president say to the american people to further disassociate himself with the hatred were seen right now cha

david duke tweeted the president has not chosen to refute or distance themselves from david duke's tweet. i would never vote for donald trump but a lot of people said i want something different, they didn't like hillary clinton, they believed the country was moving in a different direction and i can't believe a majority of the country would want people who support nazism, the kkk to be president of the country. i would say to parents and teachers, as i said yesterday at home, people who doesn't support them who are protesting, they support equality. white supremacists believe they're superior to everyone else. superiority and equality, there's a big difference. the president ended by saying he doesn't need all rally, in-from-what happened in the awful situation in charlottesville. that mom said she didn't necessarily believe or support her -- i shouldn't say support but didn't believe and pursue her daughter's cause, but after her daughter's death, she would pursue that cause. the president said in a moment of stress i can't believe she had that kind of power and compassion to rise to th

i rejected david duke, i [ding] rejected david duke. [ding]ke >> i rejected the kkk, the ku klux klan. [ding] >> from the time i was five years old, i rejected them. [ding]fr >> you've got david duke, a bigot and a racist -- [ding] >> this is not the type of people you want in your party. >> sean: back to 1991, the year 2000. why does the mediaye refused to show you all day examples of the president repudiating file, divisive people, white supremacists and other racist groups? the answer is simple. sthey are agenda driven. they are radical left wing ideologues. they are hell-bent on destroying this presidency. the presidency of donald trump. we saw it way back during the campaign. just about every media news outlet except the fox news channel. what were they doing? colluding with the clintonn campaign. we've also seen it with the media.n nonstop tinfoilto hat black helicopter conspiracy theories, consistently negative coverage of this president. he can do nothing right in their eyes. remember this harvard study. 90% ofis the clinton new

there. >> i didn't know david duke was there. i wanted to see the facts. and the facts, as they started coming out, were very well stated. in fact, everybody said, his statement was beautiful. if he would have made it sooner, that would have been good. i couldn't have made it sooner because i didn't know all of the facts. frankly, people still don't know all of the facts. it was very important -- excuse me, excuse me. it was very important to me to get the facts out and correctly, because if i would have made a fast statement -- and the first statement was made without knowing much other than what we were seeing. the second statement was made after -- with knowledge, with great knowledge. there are still things -- excuse me. there are still things that people don't know. i want to make a statement with knowledge. i wanted to know the facts. >> was this -- two questions. was this terrorism, and can you tell us how you are feeling about your chief strategist, steve bannon. >> i think the driver of the car is a disgrace to himself,

david duke can say something, but i think the president made it clear last year when david duke endorsed trump did not want his endorsement. >> brian, your response to mr. king son. >> i find the president's tweet to be pretty generic, but i think it's meaningful that it took him long to issue that milquetoast three line statement. you didn't hear from help last night after the torch literally. we didn't hear from him for several hours this morning and the same reasons that you haven't heard him from condemning the bombing of the mosque. he cultivated them during the campaign, even before the campaign quite famously. during the campaign, he would fr free -- really the only difference between these latter k day demonstrators that you saw and kkk of all is now they feel for smam shame and they don't even wear hoods any more because donald trump has taken the movement mainstream. >> and do you know how many protests versus proceed tors? protest are only one person has been arrested whereas in the black lives matter in may, 10 were arrested. and west coast proceed tes, there were hundreds ar

he didn't know david duke was at that rally, but he knows now. the president claimed tonight that not everyone was a white nationalist at that white nationalist rally. >> i've don demonstrated neo-nazis. i've condemned many different gro groups in n groups. not all were neo-nazis. those people were there because they wanted to protest the taking down of a statue, robert e. lee. >> some facts for you on this. the justice department, under the trump administration, right now, is investigating charlottesville as a potential hate crime and potential terrorist activity. today, in these new remarks, president trump was not so sure. >> you can call it terrorism. you can call it murder. you can call it whatever you want. i would just call it as the fastest one to come up with a good verdict. that's what i'd call it. there's a question. is it murder? is it terrorism? then you get into legal semantics. the driver of the car is a murderer and what he did was a horrible, horrible, inexcusable thing. >> these remarks appeared to be unplanned and they were cer

david duke? >> i disavow. >> will you say you don't want his vote or that of other white supremacists in this election? >> just so you understand, i don't know anything about david duke. i don't know what you're talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. >> for timing context, we flipped those two bites. the disavow came after. it just wasn't that it was about what he was saying. he had complete evidence of who david duke was. he also denied him earlier. he once was going to run for president with part of this party, called the reform party. duke was connected to it. he said at that time i don't want anything to do with this guy. >> just to finish the point, chris. it was the sunday before the largest number of southern states voted in the republican primary. that was very calculated. eventually he kind of provides the denuns asian that the bipartisan critics demand. but after he has sent his signal. again, he has done very well from the beginning with the elements of american soci

newscast, you said that we need to ignore david duke in all of these racist people. >> david duke should never be quoted. i'm not going to dignify anything he says and elizabeth warren is wrong and incendiary in making things worse. >> but the racist people, you think, is make -- are getting too much attention? is that right? >> we have to dodge their existence, but they are baking for coverage. they are using this. they're using dissent in america . it is a very fine line. if we fan the flames like we are asking, meaning the news and media commentators, what point are you helping them and how do you do that? we have to deal with that as a country and figure out the right balance. >> when the former grand dragon of the kkk tweets to the president , thank you for your support, should we ignore him and his kinds of people in these kinds of events? >> what we should not ignore the president of the united

well, david duke responded with this tweet. i would recommend you take a good look in the mirror and remember it was white americans who put you in the presidency, not radical leftists. so the president had a chance to make it crystal clear whose side he was on when he truly believes and once in front of the cameras, the president refused to call out or call by name the racist, bigoted white supremacists at the heart of the charlottesville, story. like in march of 2016, february of 2016 when asked to disavow duke and racists, it took him days to do it and only when he was backed into a corner. i asked donald trump on more than one occasion whether he was racist. >> i asked you last time. i said some people were shocked. if you were racist. you knew why i was asking you that. are you racist? >> i am the least racist person that you have ever met. i am the least racist person. >> are you bigoted in any way? >> i don't think so, no. i don't think so. >> islamaphobic? >> no, not at all. >> i am a person who happens to be very smart

david duke endorsed me. i disavow. okay? yes. >> now, duke explained the reasoning for saturday's alt-right and neo-nazi rally in virginia to a reportser with the indianapolis star. listen to this. >> this represents a turning point for the people of this country. we are determined to take our country back. we're going to fulfill the props of donald trump. that's what we believed in, that's why we vote ford donald trump because he said he's going to take our country back. >> and then after mr. trump condemned the rally and urged americans to come together, duke sent a tweet directed at the president saying that mr. trump should take a good look in the mirror and remember that it was white american who's put him in the presidency, not radical leftists. all right. for more now on what's happened in virginia, former south carolina lieutenant governor andre bauer joining me now from collateralston, south carolina. great to see you. i want to first start with president trump's comments. that's getting some criticism. he said we c

helping lead the protests, david duke, the former grand wizard of the ku klux klan. >> we're not anti-blacks we're pro white. >> reporter: he's a fervent supporter of president trump. "nightline" spoke with him last october. >> for duke and trump. trump disavows you. does that not bother you? >> he reluctantly did so. he's fighting a different race than me. i don't judge him. i believe in making america great again. i go a bit farther than trump. >> you want to make america white again. >> i'm not saying make america white again. i'm saying preserve the principles and the people who made america great in the first place. >> mr. trump has energized the white supremist movement. people like david duke endorsed him, which is an unusual thing because usually white supremeists don't want to have anything to do with elections. and when he won, they celebrated. charlottesville, unfortunately, is the culmination of all of that celebration, i'm afraid. >> you will not replace us! >> reporter: neo-nazi websites like the dealy stormier praised trump's initial muted reaction to charlottesville, writing

he has spoken out against david duke in the past and he has spoken out about the alt right.'m saddened somebody who lives in a town that is 50% african-american and has racial challenges, but also racial, in many cases, great cooperation, i'm saddened to do the left politicize this so darn much. like they want something to jab the president. >> i know you'll get to back to calling out left, but let me ask you this is a president who didn't have a problem calling out miikka brzezinski by name and alec baldwin. he won't say white nationalists. why won't he do that? >> i think this is not going away. >> he has had 18 hours! twitter doesn't close, right? he tweets at all hours of the day and night! he's had an opportunity. >> victor, he is going to be involved in this. the vice president is involved. the attorney general, today, i think is one of the few attorney generals in the history who has had a success death penalty conviction against the kkk, he has already said we are going to investigate this and we are going to condemn those who have broken the law. everybody is unite

should the president come out to say i condemn david duke. i condemn the kkk. i condemn the at right organizations involved in violence on saturday? >> as brunell pointed out, david, the president has specifically condemned what david duke stands for. >> not since saturday. >> not since saturday. reiterate that. >> many times. >> vice president pence and general sessions also the white house spokesperson have all absolutely come out to say president does not support white supremacists. david: i want you to respond to the fact that some people are blaming all trump supporters, i would assume that would include you for what happened in saturday, the reaction of the president, not speaking up enough a they say they did. here is mary anne marsh, she was on our channel before. she was on, she, was advisor to john kerry, by the way, a strong person in the democratic party. here is how she responded about trump people and their responsibility in this. >> he did not condemn neo-nazis. he did not condemn racists of the did not condemn factists who brought their hatred an

trump in that interview asked who is david duke. i'm paraphrasing him. explained the reasoning for saturday's alt-right and neo-nazi rally in virginia. listen to this. >> this represents a turning point. people are determined to take our country back. we're going to fulfill the promises of donald trump. that's that we believed in. that's why we voted for donald trump. because he said he's together to take our country back. >> mr. trump condemned the rally and urged americans to come together. duke sent a tweet directed at the president saying mr. trump should take a good look in the mirror and remember it was white americans who put you in the presidency, not radical. here's part of a conversation that bower began react to go david duke's comments. >> david duke is not in any way what i think what this country tries to speak to the world about welcoming and being a tolerant of other people's views. in fact, it's just the opposite. and it's not haeplealthy. i don't know why you continue to cover him. he's not relevant. it would take his relevance away. >>

i totally disavow david duke.'ve been doing it now for two weeks, you're probably about the 18th person that asked me to question. i didn't even know he endorsed me. i disavow. >> david duke announced his senate candidacy claiming your agenda for his own, essentially saying glad that you -- newt gingrich said every republican should repudiate this guy. >> and i do, rebuked. >> what you see is the biggest problem with the reform party right now? >> you've got david duke, a bigot, a racist, a problem. this is not exactly the people you want in your party. >> sean: bigot, racist, rebuked, repudiate, want nothing to do with. president trump and the people that voted for him and support his agenda, they don't like racist, they don't like bigots, they do not like what went on in charlottesville. conservatives that i have known my whole life, republicans like norma holick, people like me. the forgotten men and women, the people that are out of work. what was this election about? it was about getting jobs, getting our eco

klan, though. >> i don't know david duke. i haven't met him or i don't think i met him. i just don't know anything about him. >> i'm a law school graduate at the university of michigan, go blue, and those are the kind of things you can't wait for having a witness on the stand and being able to show a video like that. what happened in the last 17 years. a young matt lauer, by the way, but what happened over the last 17 years that made him change his mind. surely in campaigns, and it happens every year, people say things and do things that they regret that oftentimes are beneath who they are and you hope once in office they rise to the occasion. he has not risen to the occasion but i'm interested here how he reconciles that. i couldn't agree more with anita moore. and the point i was trying to make was george bush gave one of the greatest speeches ever after 9/11. president obama many moments he rose to the occasion and brought america together. this president unfortunately may have a moment where he has to look us in the eye a

>> just so you understand i don't know anything about david duke, okay. i don't know what your talking about with white supremacy or white supremacist. >> dump did disavow duke a few years later but not knowing duke is a flat out lie. how do i know, because trump considered a running for from the as 2000 reformed candidate and he said this. >> what do you see as the biggest problem with the reform problem right now? >> well you got david dulk just joined, a big got, racist a problem. this is not the kind of people you want in your party. buchanan is a disaster. justin's a terrific guy who just left the party. >> david duke a big got not the kind of guy you want in your party. you knew him in 2000, you didn't foe him in 2016? so amidst of the violence when trump tweeted we must be united and condemn all the hate. david duke responded with this, i would recommend you take a good look in the mirror and remember it was why americans who put you in the presidency not radical leftists. so the president had a chance to make it crystal clear whose side he was on

i didn't know david duke was there. i wanted to see the facts. the driver of the car is a disgrace to himself, his family, and this country. and you can call it terrorism. you can collect a murder. you can call it whatever you want. i would just call it as the fastest one to come up with a good verdict. that's what i would call it. i watched this closely, much more closely than you people watched it. you had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. nobody wants to say that, but i'll say that right now. you have a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit, and they were very, very violent. i have condemned neo-nazis. i have condemned many different groups. but not all of those people were neo-nazis, believe me. not all of those people were white supremacist by any stretch. those people were also there because they wanted to protest the taking down of a statue, robert e. lee. excuse me. and you take a look at some of the groups nuc and you know it if you are honest repor

by the way he also denied even knowledge of david duke at a certain point during the campaign. the thing is boat boat don't trump is that i mean i wonder frankly whether or not he even i mean i guess i'm veering a bit if you really even wants to be president at this point he doesn't he well i don't think he ever wanted to be president i think he got into the race because he was angry with them and with n.b.c. because they canceled it is the apprentice and he wanted to show them i could think of. randi you think he ran for president i think it was literally because it was literally the producer's salute to the producers you know the movie that mel brooks movie where these guys get together and they say let's make a movie that's going to fail so that we can keep all the investors' money and so they made this movie cause i'm not sure i want this is exactly and i didn't come right out of the strawberry or talk to my friends in a cone county michigan and tell them that talk to my friends in michigan we're sick and tired of mainstream same. but i'm sick and tired of both national rep

what that's kind of what i want to happens when your behavior draws praise from david duke that's the question the answer is i don't know i want to see if there's one does not give you the i'm sorry no i am it's the way the media characterizes the president the media dana dale twenty four seven a lot of these networks right are constantly hammering the president call telling them you know telling the people how close he is to david duke and these these these racist way to get what he did yes and also. by the way he also denied even knowledge of david duke at a certain point during the campaign i mean the thing is boat boat on trump is that i mean i wonder frankly whether or not he even i mean i guess i'm veering a bit if he really even wants to be president at this point he doesn't he well i don't think he ever wanted to be president i think he got into the race because he was angry with them and with n.b.c. because they canceled because the apprentice and he wanted to show them i could think of. randi you think he ran for president i think it was literally because it was literall

he denounced david duke strongly.e in 1996 at the convention, pat pew boou kanaan won that year, he was about to launch his primary campaign against bush and his political advisers said you don't have to get into this, it's not necessary, everyone knows you're a decent man, and president bush said i'm the president of the united states, i'm the leader of the republican party, i can't just be silent about this. dole in '96 in his speech said the bigots, here are the exits. we don't want you in the republican party. >> that's real leadership and leadership on the question of white supremacy but also leadership on the question about terrorism. the oldest terrorist organization in the united states is not isis. it's the ku klux klan. you have a terrorist organization who is publicly marching in our streets. i cannot manage imagine -- imagine fort hood where a muslim terrorist shot down a bunch of americans and the president comes out and says there's violence on many sides. there would have been pandemonium and justifiabl

>> well, just so you understand, i don't know anything about david duke, okay? i don't know anything about what you're talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists. >> this is how the president answered a question that same month, february 2016, when given a chance to condemn it. >> it's not a fair question. sit down. i understand the rest of your question. so here's the story, folks. number one, i am the least anti-semitic person you've seen in your entire life. number two, racism. the least racist person. in fact, we did very well relative to other people running as a republican. >> now, here's the thing. when trump wants to, as we all know, he speaks very directly and very quickly. for example, today, the merck ceo, ceo of merck resigned from trump's manufacturing council. he said he was doing so because of the president's failure over the weekend to condemn hatred. trump immediately responded to the african-american executive with this tweet just moments after he quit. "now the ken frazier of merck pharma has resigned and he will have more time t

what i am saying is david duke certainly is a racist and a bigot and david duke is saying thank you,i certainly appreciate your words. we'll leave it there. thank you for joining me this morning, pastor. next, we'll talk to a republican from my home state issuing a statement denouncing president's comments yesterday. republican congressman leonard lance. showing off my arms? that's cool. being comfortable without a shirt? that's cool. getting the body you want without surgery, needles, or downtime? that's coolsculpting. coolsculpting is the only fda-cleared non-invasive treatment that targets and freezes away stubborn fat cells. visit coolsculpting.com today and register for a chance to win a free treatment. buttrust angie's list to help., [ barks ] visit angieslist.com today. delicious pasta marinara. but birds eye made it from zucchini. mmm! bird: mashed potatoes and rice. but made from cauliflower. looks like i need a fork! oh, no. (giggling) bird: new birds eye veggie made. so veggie good. bird: new bi♪ds eye veggie made. [brother] any last words? [boy] karma, danny... ...karma!

david duke is the most irrelevant person. >> this isn't david duke. >> david duke keeps coming aroundecause he wants to be in the media. this website, these neonazis, kkk members, they want the media platform, they said to have the microphone. keep mentioning their website. congratulations. i won't go visit their website. >> paris, this is about the president. >> and he disavowed it back in march. he did it a couple days ago and did it again today. >> paris -- >> i distance myself. he keeps doing it, and it's fine. >> why is it that white republican senators and members of congress have been disagreeing with president trump's state on saturday, saying he didn't go far enough? >> because if -- if the president had read the statement as written and not ad-libbed, which he normally does, and not says those two or three words that he ad-libbed on. >> many sides? >> many sides, everybody would have said this is an appropriate response, but the media and everyone else fanned the flames saying this president is racist. >> you have to understand, paris, had he wasn't spvk on the groups. would

robert you just heard david duke say that. heard the president's statement yesterday not directly condemning white supremacists groups. as a long time republican what is your gut reaction to that. >> one it is absolutely deplorable. what you saw is a member of the basket of deplorables, meaning david duke. what you saw with the youngman ramming into a crowd of people that is a member of the deplorables. and what we saw from the president yesterday which is interesting to me because in the context he said we have to cherish our nation's history -- listen to that cherish our nation's history. to me as an african-american to me that is a nod to the alt-right and racist supremacy. that's number two. number three he is our president he is supposed to bring us together, be presidential, not joke as he did at the end of the press conference. he is supposed to be serious. and yet again this president is reaching a new low in terms of how not to be presidential. it is absolutely disgraceful and it is so heart wrenching to see a leader

david duke is prominent in this story.avid duke was elected to the louisiana house, and then he ran again for governor of the state and won most of the white vote in louisiana. and the platform that david duke ran on and the bills he proposed in the legislature are no different than the republican bills -- >> charles, come on. >> that is true. [ overlapping speakers ] >> you can't sit there and blame the republican party for all racism in america. >> i'm quoting a magazine. you have some magazines you want to quote? >> how about the democrat's platform in 1924 that wasn't -- [ overlapping speakers ] >> all right. paul? >> we've come to this with a great deal of history. bill bradley, the senator from new jersey, said slavery was our original sin. we've never gotten over it. but this is not richard nixon with dog whistles. this is donald trump with a bull horn. say what you will about the history of republicans on racism. this is different. ronald reagan disavowed the klu klux klan when they endorsed him. george h.w. bush d

he looked pained to eventually disavow david duke.judge gonzalo curiel for being mexican-american. the birtherism, that launched his political incarnation in the last several years. the president now, if he wanted to pivot away from that he's struggling to do it. because it's hard to turn that ship around once you unleash it. >> and also took out a full-page advertisement in the "new york times" calling for the death penalty for the alleged s ed ce park rapist who turned out being innocent. >> you studied politics and presidents a long time. you're an expert. how does he fix this? he clearly needs to do something? >> come out with a new statement far better if he found a way to part company with steve bannon and some of the other people who have sympathies in the white nationalist direction. and have a history of it. this would be a great time to do it. i think general kelly wants to get rid of some of them. maybe he can move into the vacuum and push them out. that would help. we now know, wolf, donald trump from the campaign, the fir

david duke was the de facto republican nominee, the govern of louisiana. who showed up in charlottesville. he and his allies precipitated the violence. it is not both sides. i agree with van and you on that. but also president bush, he could have stayed out of it. probably was not going to win anyw anyway. president bush insisted on the day before the election having a press conference in washington making sure he made clear david duke did not represent him or the republican party. bob dole, pat buchanan was about ready to launch his primary campaign against bush in '91 and some of his political advisors said everyone knows are you a decent man. president bush said i am the president of the united states, leader of the republican party. i can't just be silent about this. dole in '96 in his convention speech said bigots who might have, accidentally, as he put it, come to support him, we don't want you in the republican party. >> that's real leadership and it is real leadership on the question of white supremacist but also leadership on the question of terro

why don't he say this is the alt-right. >> to the bob dole point, george bush, when david duke was running for u.s. senator as a republican, he came out and said no way, that we're not accepting bigotry, understanding that duke was the former grand wizard of the kkk and he pushed back against that. the thing also to remember is that what donald trump has done is he is taking a fringe group, the alt-right, a hateful, sexist, racism movement, and normal liesed them. that's what he did by having steve bannon, by having goreka. let's go back a little further. during the campaign, if he wasn't outright using every horrible hateful isms out there, he was doing dog whistles. >> to say nothing of birtherism. it's what got donald trump his fans among the alt-right, he was willing to indulge in this openly racist conspiracy theory. i have to say, a pastor actually texted me this morning something that i think is actually very kind of an important point. the republican party is rightly distancing themselves from what happened in charlottesville, pushing away the alt-right. treatment deeds would help

never gets tired of condemning islamic forms of terrorism, but he has a one time denunciation of david dukehe never has to say anything about it again? that's not right. >> i don't think you give legitimacy for giving duke what he wants. david duke wants to be on tv and to recruit white supremacists and inspire them. you don't talk about a guy like that and put him on tv because that's his goal. any time he can run out there and mention anything about any politician that gets him on tv he's going to do it. david duke -- he's a disgusting and vile human being. >> sure. >> van, let me ask you this question real quick. i mean, could it be that somebody like david duke is using the president as cover? >> sure. hey, listen, all i'm saying is if -- at some point you say he doesn't have to say david duke or white nationalists or doesn't have to say thug that he says about other things and that sends a signal. you don't want a dog whistle today. you want a may go phone today and what we got was too much of a dog whistle. hey, listen, i'm giving you the feed back. >> if a dog whistl is using words l

. >> and former kkk grand wizard david duke. >> we're telling the truth. about the ethnic cleansing of america and the destruction of the american way of life. >>ist ideologies now boiling over into violence.heacr the threat of bloodshed growing with their numbers. >> announcer: this special edition of "nightline," "hate among us," will be right back. >> announcer: this is a special edition of "nightline," "hate among us." >>> good evening and thanks for joining us. it was a weekend of street tts a racism, exploding into a deadly act of domestic terror. tonight we examine the hateful groups that now appear to be banding together. why are they now emerging from the shadows, emboldened and growing in numbers? here's abc's eva pilgrim. >> reporter: hate no longer hides behind hoods. >> you will not replace us! >> reporter: this was the scene in the liberal college town of charlottesville, virginia, on friday. reminiscent of images from a dark american past. >> [ bleep ] this is our town now! >> reporter: hundreds of white nationalists from across the country