Democrats condemn Sen. Rounds’ KKK statements

Sioux Falls, SD (March 1, 2016)-

Democratic Party Chair Ann Tornberg condemned statements made by Senator Mike Rounds regarding an endorsement by KKK member David Duke for Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump. Trump had been asked to renounce Duke’s endorsement but refused to answer the question. When asked if Trump intentionally avoided condemning the endorsement of the KKK, Rounds said:

“Even if you’re disappointed with the way [Trump]’s responding to things, even if you’re mad at him, you disagree with him, if he did it intentionally — I don’t think he did, I think he just made a mistake — even if he did, they’re still going to do a better job with him there than if you had Hillary or Bernie in his place.”

“The Democratic Party strongly condemns Mike Rounds’ comments. To say someone who won’t renounce an endorsement from the KKK would be better than a Democrat is remarkably shallow. It’s politics at its worst. If you want to figure out why Washington is broken—start with people that align themselves with hate groups like the KKK over the other party,” said Tornberg.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the KKK is the most infamous hate group in the United States. “Lynchings, tar-and-featherings, rapes and other violent attacks on those challenging white supremacy became a hallmark of the Klan.”

Earlier in the day, Rounds had predicted Trump would boost GOP turnout.

“If he is the nominee, then will he bring more people out or won’t he? You can call it transactional, but it’s factual,” said Rounds.

“Courting racists to vote for you should not be a “transactional” cost of politics. To even suggest it shows an incredible lack of respect for those who have been impacted by the hate and violence perpetrated by groups like the KKK,” said Tornberg.

###