Joe Scarborough said on Monday that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s refusal on Sunday to condemn former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke and the KKK is “disqualifying.”
“That’s disqualifying right there,” he said on MSNBC after showing a clip of Trump refusing to disavow Duke and the KKK.
{mosads}”It’s breathtaking. That is disqualifying right there, to say you don’t know about the Ku Klux Klan, you don’t know about David Duke.”
“And the most stunning thing … this isn’t buying him a single vote. Is he really so stupid that he thinks Southerners aren’t offended by the Ku Klux Klan and David Duke?” he asked.
“Is he really so ignorant of Southern voters that he thinks this is the way to their heart?”
Trump on Sunday morning refused to condemn the racism of Duke and the KKK during an interview on CNN. He said he needed more information about the groups in question before he would condemn them.
Duke pushed his supporters last week to vote for and volunteer for the front-runner.
Trump’s response on CNN Sunday came just days after he had “disavowed” Duke during a press conference.
On Monday morning, Trump blamed his response on a “lousy earpiece,” saying he could hardly hear what he was being asked.
Scarborough said Sunday morning that it had been an “astounding weekend,” calling out Trump and his rivals for the attacks they’ve been making on one another. Still, he said he doesn’t think Trump’s comments will have an effect on how he does going into Super Tuesday.