Hillary Clinton and rival Bernie Sanders may be rivals for the Democratic nomination, but they are showing unity–via Twitter–in condemning Republican frontrunner Donald Trump after he declined to disavow former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard David Duke.
Trump generated headlines over the weekend after the businessman was asked if he would renounce the support he had received from Duke and other white supremacist groups that have backed his campaign. The line of questions were presented by CNN’s Jake Tapper, who asked Trump about the Ku Klux Klan at three separate points during the interview.
The GOP frontrunner said he didn’t “know anything” about white supremacists and Duke, a stance that generated harsh criticism in the media and among his political rivals.
Sanders, a U.S. Senator from Vermont, took to Twitter (TWTR) to condemn Trump. And Clinton notably retweeted the message.
America's first black president cannot and will not be succeeded by a hatemonger who refuses to condemn the KKK.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 28, 2016
Trump, meanwhile, took to Twitter to offer a defense.
As I stated at the press conference on Friday regarding David Duke- I disavow. Pic.twitter.com/OIXFKPUlz2
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2016
It is important for both Clinton and Sanders to make a stern public statement hitting at Trump’s stumbles. Black voters gave Clinton a big win in the South Carolina primary over the weekend. On Super Tuesday, when 11 states will award delegates this week, minority voters are expected to represent a sizable portion of the voting block in several Southern states. The Democratic party will rely on minority groups, as it has in the past, to maintain control of the White House.