Trump: I don't want votes from white supremacists

The Hill's Ballot Box Blog ^ | August 25, 2016 | Jesse Byrnes

[2ndDivisionVet]

Donald Trump said Thursday he doesn't want the support of white supremacists amid accusations from rival Hillary Clinton that he's allowing hate to go "mainstream."

"Do you want white supremacists to vote for you?" New Hampshire's WMUR asked the GOP presidential nominee in Manchester, where Trump held an event Thursday.

"No, I don't at all, not at all," Trump responded, as highlighted by a CNN reporter.

"This is not about hate, this is about love," Trump continued. "We love our country. We want our country to come back. We want our country to be strong again."

Clinton launched into an attack on Trump Thursday, going after the so-called alt-right movement and invoking Trump's new hire of Breitbart executive Steve Bannon as his campaign chief to argue that Trump is bringing "a hate movement mainstream."

"The de facto merger between Breitbart and the Trump Campaign represents a landmark achievement for the alt-right. A fringe element has effectively taken over the Republican Party," Clinton said during her speech in Reno, Nev.

The alt-right movement is comprised of hardcore conservatives opposed to immigration and globalism, which is usually associated with white nationalism. Clinton on Thursday also linked Trump to David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan leader who supports Trump, and the KKK.

Trump brushed off Duke's support early this year but caught flak for not more forcefully disavowing him, with some accusing him of not wanting to turn off white supremacists who may be supporting him.

"I don't know anything about David Duke," Trump famously claimed during an interview on CNN in February when pressed on whether he'd decline the support of Duke and other white supremacists.

"I don't know anything about what you're even talking about with white supremacy or white supremacists," Trump told Jake Tapper then. "I know nothing about white supremacists."

[bus man]

Agreed. But if Trump had answered the question in that fashion, he’d instantly lose thousands of votes from the mushy middle, and he’d be fighting off charges of “racism” (more so than he already has to do) for weeks to come.

There is simply no political upside to admitting to wanting the votes of white supremacists. And Trump knows it.

[NFHale]

Oh, I completely understand his answer. He’s learning to play the game.

But the game sucks and it’s tiresome. Especially when you’re trying to not offend people who are already inclined to be perpetually offended by everything and everyone who is/are not like them.

There comes a point where you just say “You’re Offended? Gee.. that’s shame. Deal with it.”

As for the mushy middle... is there even a middle left in this country anymore?

[entropy12]

Shhhhh...Indian students outperform white students in every American university...do not tell anyone. Not only that Indian origin residents and citizens in USA have much bigger average incomes than average of American born whites. Please keep this quiet. Otherwise there could be a backlash.

[Ohioan]

The upper caste Indian students are Caucasian. The fact that they are darker complected than most European Caucasians does not alter that. If you want to make the point that we do not have a monopoly on "smarts," you might contrast the performance of Japanese, Koreans and many Chinese--particularly in subjects such as math. (The American Hindu population, one suspects, are a selection from the general population, that were drawn here by reason of having very good aptitudes; ones in demand here.)

My only point is that people--both here and elsewhere--have every right to honor and seek to preserve their cultural heritage--that is the product of their specific struggles through the generations--and do not deserve to be dismissed by bigots like Mrs. Clinton, by being given a 'snooty label.' (Anyone who respects the Fifth Commandment, and the Biblical context, will understand the point.)

[entropy12]

No dispute whatsoever with what you said.