RNC chair Reince Priebus disavows ex-KKK leader David Duke
On the heels of David Duke's announcement that he plans to run for U.S. Senate in Louisiana, Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus is disavowing the former Ku Klux Klan leader.
Priebus blasted out his harsh criticism of Duke, a registered Republican, in a tweet Saturday.
David Duke & his hateful bigotry have no place in the Republican Party & the RNC will never support his candidacy under any circumstance
— Reince Priebus (@Reince) July 23, 2016
Duke, a convicted felon, declared his intention to run for office Friday, aiming to take the vacated seat of Republican David Vitter. He'll be competing against nearly two dozen other candidates who have already registered to run.
The white supremacist has held public office before, having served as a Republican state representative in Louisiana over 20 years ago.
In national politics, Duke has most recently been a vocal supporter of the GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump.
He mentioned the New York billionaire in his Senate announcement, declaring "America first" -- a phrase re-popularized by Trump -- would be his campaign slogan.
"I'm overjoyed to see Donald Trump and most Americans embrace most of the issues that I've championed for years," Duke said in YouTube video. "I was the first major candidate in modern times to promote the policy of 'America first.'"
Trump, as recently as the Republican National Convention this week, promoted the phrase, assuring Americans in his speech Thursday that he would "make America first again."