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| TRUMP |
Presidential candidate Donald Trump defended his
refusal to repudiate white supremacist groups by comparing them to Jewish
charities — a claim that the Anti-Defamation League denounced as obscene
“I don’t like to disavow groups if I don’t know
who they are,” Trump said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” I mean, you could have
Federation of Jewish Philanthropies in groups.”
The ADL slammed Trump’s comparison of Jewish groups to white power
groups, noting that they refer to blacks as ‘mud people’ and brand Jews as
‘Satanic.’
“It is obscene to even mention a Jewish organization in the same
breath as these white supremacist groups,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the
ADL. “Mr. Trump needs to acknowledge that the rhetoric of these hate groups is
appalling and does not belong in any political discussion.”
In the “Morning Joe” interview, Trump again sought to distance
himself from white supremacist David Duke. He also alluded to a possible third
party run, warning the Republican Party again that he could leave the race and
bring his supporters with him.
Trump used the interview to address the controversy over his
refusal on Sunday to disavow Duke while talking to CNN’s Jake Tapper. Later, he
blamed his failure to do so on a “bad earpiece.”
On Thursday, he called Duke a “bad person.” “I disavowed him,”
Trump said. “I disavowed the K.K.K.”
Greenblatt said it was hard to understand why Trump seemed to find
it difficult to make a clear-cut denounciation of the white supremacist group.
“It is hard to fathom how we can have a candidate who can be so
verbose when it comes to denigrating other candidates, yet he finds himself
tongue tied when it comes to the most racist and anti-Semitic group in the
history of this country,” Greenblatt said
