Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke, who sponsored a 2002 meeting at which House Majority Whip Steve Scalise has been under fire for speaking, has downplayed his relationship with the embattled lawmaker, saying he doesn’t support the Louisiana Republican politically.
Duke said he never has had a political relationship with Scalise. And while Duke generally considers the congressman a “pretty good family guy,” he wouldn’t vote for him because of Scalise’s pro-Israel polices.
“I never sent a penny to his campaigns, and he never sent a penny to mine,” said Duke Tuesday during his daily Internet radio show. “The idea that Scalise, who was not really a person who was really active in any of my work or campaigns or was a supporter of mine, that he would be singled out is really kind of disgusting.”
Scalise, the House’s No. 3 Republican, said he didn’t know the ideology of the European-American Unity and Rights Organization, the Duke-led outfit which has been described as a white supremacist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center and others, when he attended its 2002 event.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Scalise said he regrets speaking to the group.
“It was a mistake I regret, and I emphatically oppose the divisive racial and religious views groups like these hold,” he said.
Scalise’s job appears safe for now, as House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and House House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California both say they stand by the Louisiana lawmaker.
Duke questioned why Scalise has been targeted for attending a meeting at which representatives from the Red Cross and the local sheriff’s office also spoke.
“He said he didn’t realize it was our meeting — I don’t know if he realized it or not, that’s not really the issue here,” he said. “But why can’t a representative come to the meeting, and why are they singling out Scalise?
“He just came and spoke to promote one of his tax bills to his local constituents.”
Duke, a former Louisiana state House member who has run for governor, the Senate and president, also has warned Republicans to back off Scalise. Duke told Fusion.com he has made a lot of contacts with politicians over the years and suggested he won’t hesitate to expose others — Republicans and Democrats alike — with whom he has ties.
“If Scalise is going to be crucified — if Republicans want to throw Steve Scalise to the woods, then a lot of them better be looking over their shoulders,” Duke said.
Duke also said he takes umbrage to being called a “white supremacist,” saying he “condemns any sort of racial supremacism.”
