Retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn lashed out at attempts to tie the KKK to the GOP during a Thursday night appearance on CNN.
“Not only does Donald Trump disavow them, but I think most Americans disavow that line of thinking and those kinds of groups. I find them disgusting,” said Flynn, a former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency who now advises GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump,
His remarks came in response to CNN anchor Erin Burnett asking Flynn for his take as to why white nationalists across the country are taking Trump’s message to heart. In particular, Burnett brought up former KKK wizard David Duke, who commented favorably on Trump’s recent speech in Phoenix.
Flynn’s reply was terse.
“Don’t try to tie the KKK to the Republican Party or the conservative movement in this country,” he added.
Flynn emphasized that the Trump campaign has no control over what people tweet in response to Trump’s speeches.
What’s notable, however, is that Flynn did not mention the alt-right’s support of Trump, preferring instead to point to the KKK, which has not played any serious presence in politics for countless decades.
Trump’s immigration speech Wednesday in Phoenix resonated with a lot of Americans, as he reaffirmed that he won’t soften on his hard stance against illegal border crossing and will build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, a point that has animated and enraptured his supporters and infuriated his detractors.
“On day one, we will begin working on an impenetrable physical wall on the southern border,” Trump said. “We will use the best technology, including above-and-below-ground sensors, towers, aerial surveillance and manpower to supplement the wall, find and dislocate tunnels, and keep out the criminal cartels—and Mexico will pay for the wall.”
His 10-point platform appears to be a serious attempt to reinvigorate American sovereignty in terms of immigration, as one of the points notes that a Trump administration will “Cancel unconstitutional executive orders and enforce all immigration laws.” Not only does Trump plan to handle illegal immigration, but his 10th point states that legal immigration, too, will be subject to reform to serve Americans, even though reform efforts have so far been held up in Congress.
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