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The Crusader, one
of the white supremacist group's most prominent publications,
published a lengthy endorsement and defense of Trump's message
on the front page of its current issue under the headline: "Make
America Great Again."
"Make America Great Again" is Trump's campaign slogan.
The Trump campaign rejected the group's support. In a statement,
campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said, "Mr. Trump and the
campaign denounces hate in any form. This publication is
repulsive and their views do not represent the tens of millions
of Americans who are uniting behind our campaign."
The KKK is the oldest white supremacist group in the United
States, tracing its roots back to the Reconstruction period in
the South that followed the Civil War. In addition to anti-black
views, it has expressed anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant and
anti-gay views and, until recently, was anti-Roman Catholic.
Earlier this year, former KKK leader David Duke of Louisiana
voiced support for Trump, saying white people are threatened in
America and that he hears echoes of his views in Trump's
rhetoric.
Trump drew criticism in February for failing to quickly disavow
support from Duke.
Some critics have condemned as racist Trump's call for limiting
Muslim immigration, building a wall along the border with Mexico
and criticism of a Mexican-American judge.
In The Crusader, Pastor Thomas Robb wrote, "While Trump wants to
make America great again, we have to ask ourselves, 'What made
America great in the first place?'
"America was great not because of what our forefathers did -but
because of who our forefathers were. America was founded as a
White Christian Republic. And as a White Christian Republic it
became great," Robb wrote.
Robb, based in Arkansas, heads the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan,
which took over in the 1980s after the departure of Duke,
according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hates
groups.
(Reporting by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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