David Duke insists he's 'not opposed to all Jews' in raucous Louisiana Senate debate
A crowded field of six candidates for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) debated at the historically black Dillard University in New Orleans on Wednesday night, and while many of the candidates traded barbs, much of the attention was on former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke, who is running as a Republican, to the chagrin of the Republican Party. The frontrunner in the race is John Kennedy, Louisiana's Republican state treasurer, who called Duke "a convicted liar and a convicted felon" and told him "it must be terrible to wake up with that much hate in your heart."
One of the Democrats, Caroline Fayard, called Duke a "snake" who'd "slithered out of the swamp," said he shouldn't even have been there since he polled at 5 percent, and urged voters to "cut the head off of his hatred." The most notable moment of the debate came when the moderator asked Duke why his website had references to "CNN Jews." "There is a problem in America with a very strong, powerful tribal group that dominates our media, dominates our international banking," Duke said, adding, "I'm not opposed to all Jews." He also talked about "a cabal in this government that literally controls our foreign policy," singling out Hillary Clinton for supporting Saudi Arabia. "The lady should be getting the electric chair, being charged with treason," he said. Clinton knew the Saudis were supporting ISIS, he added, "and she told it secretly to Goldman Sachs in her emails, but she didn't tell the public."
The sponsor of the debate, Raycom Media, decided not to allow an audience or the media in the debate hall, so the six candidates spoke to an empty room. Protesters did try to break in, scuffling with police and trading pepper spray. There were no arrests reported.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The environmental cost of GLP-1sThe explainer Producing the drugs is a dirty process
-
Greenland’s capital becomes ground zero for the country’s diplomatic straitsIN THE SPOTLIGHT A flurry of new consular activity in Nuuk shows how important Greenland has become to Europeans’ anxiety about American imperialism
-
‘This is something that happens all too often’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
-
Grand jury rejects charging 6 Democrats for ‘orders’ videoSpeed Read The jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers for a video in which they urged military members to resist illegal orders
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
