View source for David Duke

{{Short description|American white supremacist (born 1950)}}
{{Other people||David Duke (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = David Duke
| image               = David Duke & The KKK in the 1970s (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Duke as Grand Wizard, {{circa|1974}}
| state_house1        = Louisiana
| district1           = [[Louisiana's 81st House of Representatives district|81st]]
| term_start1         = February 18, 1989
| term_end1           = January 13, 1992
| predecessor1        = [[Chuck Cusimano]]
| successor1          = [[David Vitter]]
| office2             = [[Grand Wizard]] of the [[Ku Klux Klan#Later Klans: 1950s–present|Knights of the Ku Klux Klan]]
| term_start2         = 1974
| term_end2           = 1980
| predecessor2        = Position established
| successor2          = [[Don Black (white supremacist)|Don Black]]
| birth_name          = David Ernest Duke
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1950|07|01}}
| birth_place         = [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]], U.S.
| spouse              = {{marriage|Chloê Hardin|1974|1984|end=div}}
| children            = 2
| education           = [[Louisiana State University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]) <br> [[Interregional Academy of Personnel Management]] ([[Candidate of Sciences|''Kandidat nauk'']] in History)
| party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (1989–1999, 2016–present)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-the-latest-ex-kkk-leader-duke-says-he-will-run-2016jul22-story,amp.html |work=The San Diego Union-Tribune |title=The Latest: Ex-KKK leader Duke: 'My time has come' |date=July 22, 2016 |access-date=August 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813103447/http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-the-latest-ex-kkk-leader-duke-says-he-will-run-2016jul22-story,amp.html |archive-date=August 13, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| otherparty          = {{ubl|
* [[Reform Party of the United States of America|Reform]] (1999–2001)
* [[Populist Party (United States, 1984)|Populist]] (1988–1989)
* [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] (1975–1988)
* [[American Nazi Party|American Nazi]] (before 1975)
}}
}}
'''David Ernest Duke''' (born July 1, 1950) is an American politician, [[White supremacy|white supremacist]], [[neo-Nazi]], [[conspiracy theorist]], and former [[grand wizard]] of the [[Knights of the Ku Klux Klan]].<ref name="Reed" /> From 1989 to 1992, he was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] member of the [[Louisiana House of Representatives]]. His politics and writings are largely devoted to promoting [[conspiracy theories about Jews]], such as [[Holocaust denial]] and [[Zionist Occupation Government conspiracy theory|Jewish control]] of academia, the press, and the financial system.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/former-kkk-wizard-praised-corbyn-victory-rztzv263g |last=Zeffman |first=Henry |title=Former KKK wizard David Duke praised Jeremy Corbyn victory |work=[[The Times]]|location=London|date=August 3, 2018|access-date=September 9, 2019|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/05/17/white-shadow-david-dukes-lasting-influence-american-white-supremacy |title=White Shadow: David Duke's Lasting Influence on American White Supremacy |last=Barrouquere |first=Brett |date=May 17, 2019|work=Southern Poverty Law Center |access-date=September 9, 2019}}</ref> In 2013, the [[Anti-Defamation League]] called Duke "perhaps America's most well-known racist and anti-Semite".<ref name="ADLprofile">{{Cite web |date=2013 |title=David Duke |url=https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/assets/pdf/combating-hate/David-Duke.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010104637/https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/assets/pdf/combating-hate/David-Duke.pdf |archive-date=October 10, 2017 |access-date=February 15, 2020 |work=Anti-Defamation League |orig-year=c. 2009}}</ref>

Duke unsuccessfully ran as a Democratic candidate for state legislature during the 1970s and 1980s, culminating in [[David Duke 1988 presidential campaign|his campaign]] for the [[1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries|1988 Democratic presidential nomination]]. After failing to gain any traction within the Democratic Party, he gained the presidential nomination of the minor [[Populist Party (United States, 1984)|Populist Party]]. In December 1988, he became a Republican and claimed to have become a [[born-again Christian]], nominally renouncing [[antisemitism]] and [[racism]].<ref name="Los Angeles Times" /><ref name="nytimes.com" /> He soon won his only elected office, a seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives. He then ran unsuccessful but competitive campaigns for several more offices, including [[1990 United States Senate election in Louisiana|United States Senate in 1990]] and [[1991 Louisiana gubernatorial election|governor of Louisiana in 1991]]. His campaigns were denounced by national and state Republican leaders, including President [[George H. W. Bush]]. He mounted a minor challenge to President Bush in 1992.

By the late 1990s, Duke had abandoned his pretense of rejecting racism and antisemitism, and began to openly promote racist and neo-Nazi viewpoints. He then began to devote himself to writing about his political views, both in newsletters and later on the Internet. In his writings, he denigrates African Americans and other ethnic minorities, and promotes conspiracy theories about a Jewish plot to control the United States and the world.<ref name="duke_ma_39">{{cite web |last = Duke |first = David |title = An Aryan Vision |website = My Awakening |publisher = SolarGeneral |url = http://www.solargeneral.com/library/ma/39.html |access-date = November 13, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070430131839/http://www.solargeneral.com/library/ma/39.html |archive-date = April 30, 2007 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last = Duke |first = David |title = Kayla Rolland: One More Victim |date = October 23, 2004 |url = http://www.davidduke.com/index.php?p=21 |access-date = November 13, 2006 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061029061208/http://www.davidduke.com/index.php?p=21 |archive-date = October 29, 2006 |df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="ADLIHW">{{cite web |title = David Duke: In His Own Words / On Segregation |publisher = [[Anti-Defamation League]]|url = http://www.adl.org/special_reports/duke_own_words/on_segregation.asp |access-date = November 13, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120515162811/http://www.adl.org/special_reports/duke_own_words/on_segregation.asp |archive-date = May 15, 2012 |url-status = live |df = mdy-all }}</ref> He continued to run for public office through 2016, but after his reversion to open neo-Nazism, his candidacies were not competitive.

During the 1990s, Duke defrauded his political supporters by pretending to be in dire financial straits and soliciting money for basic necessities. At the time, he was in fact financially secure and used the money for recreational [[gambling]].<ref name="guilty" /> In December 2002, Duke pleaded guilty to felony fraud and subsequently served a 15-month sentence at the [[Federal Correctional Institution, Big Spring]], in Texas.<ref name="guilty" /><ref name="Fox News">{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/david-duke-gets-15-month-sentence-for-fraud|title=David Duke Gets 15-Month Sentence for Fraud|work=[[Fox News]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207102807/https://www.foxnews.com/story/david-duke-gets-15-month-sentence-for-fraud|date=March 12, 2003|archive-date=December 7, 2018}}</ref>

== Early life ==
[[File:David Duke in 1967.jpg|thumb|150px|Duke as a teenager]]
David Ernest Duke was born on July 1, 1950, in [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]], to <!-- Multiple sources indicate his mother's forenames were Alice Maxine, they are less reliable than those which do not. -->Maxine (née Crick) and David Hedger Duke, the younger of two children.<ref name="Applebome91">{{cite news|last=Applebome|first=Peter|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/10/us/duke-the-ex-nazi-who-would-be-governor.html|title=Duke: The Ex-Nazi Who Would Be Governor|work=The New York Times|date=November 19, 1991|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210302155339/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/10/us/duke-the-ex-nazi-who-would-be-governor.html|archive-date=March 2, 2021|access-date=March 8, 2020}}</ref> As the son of an engineer for [[Shell Oil Company]], Duke frequently moved with his family around the world. During 1954, they lived a short time in the [[Netherlands]] before settling in an all-white area of [[New Orleans]], [[Louisiana]], in 1955.<ref>Bridges (1995), p. 5</ref> His mother was an [[alcoholic]]; his father permanently left the family in 1966 for [[Laos]] taking a job with [[United States Agency for International Development]] (USAID).<ref>Bridges (1995), p. 11</ref> While in New Orleans, Duke attended the Clifton L. Ganus School, a conservative Church of Christ-sponsored school. He said his segregationist awakening started during his research for an eighth-grade project at this school. After his freshman year, Duke transferred to [[Warren Easton Senior High School|Warren Easton Senior High]] in New Orleans. For his junior year, he attended [[Riverside Military Academy]] in Gainesville, Georgia. His senior year, he attended [[John F. Kennedy High School (Louisiana)|John F. Kennedy High School]], and by the time he graduated was already a member of the [[Ku Klux Klan]].<ref name="LA Times 1989">{{cite web |last1=Harrison |first1=Joanne |title=Voices -- David Duke, 1989 |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-21-vw-212-story.html |access-date=April 21, 2021 |date=March 21, 2009 |quote=David's version of how he came to his 'racialist' views begins as a freshman in high school. 'In those days I held liberal views because that's the pabulum that's fed to you,' he says now. 'Then one day a teacher assigned me to take the anti-integration argument in a report because she knew I was for it, and I finally found books like ''Race and Reason'' by Carlton Putnam, and that book had a big influence on me.'...The staff at Clifton Ganus School, where Duke was given the assignment he now sees as an epiphany, has been doing a lot of soul searching ever since Duke began to tell this story.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Duke |first1=David |title=My Awakening |url=https://archive.org/details/MyAwakening_865 |access-date=April 12, 2021}}</ref>

In 1964, Duke began his involvement in [[Radical right (United States)|radical right]] politics after attending a [[Citizens' Councils]] (CCA) meeting and reading [[Carleton Putnam]]'s pro-[[Racial segregation in the United States|segregation]] books, later citing ''Race and Reason: A Yankee View'' as responsible for his "enlightenment".<ref name="Foxman1999" /> Putnam's book asserted the genetic superiority of whites. Also during his adolescence, Duke began to read books about [[Nazism]] and the [[Third Reich]], and his speeches at CCA meetings became more explicitly pro-Nazi.<ref name="SPLCprofile" /> This was enough to gain him disapproval from some members, who were more anti-black racists than [[antisemitic]]. While attending Riverside Military Academy, his class was disciplined after Duke was found to be in possession of a [[Nazi flag]] and, in public school, he vociferously protested against the lowering of the flag after the [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]]<ref name="SPLCprofile" /><ref name="LAT19890321">{{Cite news|last=Harrison|first=Joanne|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-21-vw-212-story.html|title=David Duke: Dixie Divider : The Ex-Klansman Taps Well of Discontent to Win a Louisiana House Seat, and a Constituency|date=March 21, 1989|work=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=February 15, 2020}}</ref> In the late 1960s, Duke met the white supremacist [[William Luther Pierce]], who became an influence on him. Duke joined the [[Ku Klux Klan]] (KKK) in 1967.<ref name="Reed" /><ref>Issues '92 Profile: David Duke; ''[[The Orange County Register]]''. [[Santa Ana, California|Santa Ana]], [[California]]: March 2, 1992. pp. a.04</ref>

In 1968, Duke enrolled at [[Louisiana State University]] (LSU) in [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]]. In 1970, he formed a [[White people|white]] student group called the White Youth Alliance that was affiliated with the [[National Socialist White People's Party]]. He appeared at a demonstration in Nazi uniform carrying a sign reading "Gas the [[Chicago Seven|Chicago 7]]" (a group of left-wing anti-war activists [[William Kunstler]] had defended) and "Kunstler is a Communist Jew" to protest Kunstler's appearance at [[Tulane University]] in New Orleans.<ref name="SPLCprofile" /><ref name="LAT19890321" /><ref name="Reed">{{cite news|last=Reed|first=Julia|url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/1992/04/09/his-brilliant-career/|title=His Brilliant Career|work=The New York Review of Books|date=April 9, 1992|access-date=October 21, 2019|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="rise">{{cite book|last=Bridges|first=Tyler|title=The Rise of David Duke|url=https://archive.org/details/riseofdavidduke0000brid|url-access=registration|year=1995|publisher=University of Mississippi Press|isbn=978-0-87805-678-1}}</ref> Picketing and holding parties on the anniversary of [[Adolf Hitler]]'s birth, he became known on the LSU campus for wearing a [[Nazi uniform]].<ref name="rise" /> While a student at LSU, Duke took a [[road trip]] to an [[American Nazi Party]] conference in [[Virginia]] with white supremacists [[Joseph Paul Franklin]] (later convicted of multiple acts of racial and antisemitic [[terrorism]] and executed for [[serial murder]]) and [[Don Black (white supremacist)|Don Black]].<ref>{{cite podcast|url=https://slate.com/podcasts/slow-burn/s4/david-duke/e2/david-duke-ku-klux-klan|title=Robe and Ritual|last=Levin|first=Josh|author-link=Josh Levin|publisher=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=June 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612175910/https://slate.com/podcasts/slow-burn/s4/david-duke/e2/david-duke-ku-klux-klan|series=Season 4 Episode 2|archive-date=June 12, 2020|work=[[Slow Burn (podcast)|Slow Burn]]|quote=As a student at LSU, [David] Duke wrote letters to the National Socialist White People's Party, the group formerly known as the American Nazi Party. These Nazis invited Duke to their annual conference in Virginia and suggested that he carpool with two other white supremacists. Here's the author, Eli Saslow. One of them was about his age. A guy named Joseph Paul Franklin. The other was about two or three years younger. A guy named Don Black. And they piled into this car and started driving, you know, at 800 miles up the highway. And over the course of those hours, these three kids became really close.|access-date=June 12, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

Duke says that he spent nine months in Laos, calling it a "normal tour of duty". He joined his father, who remained working there, and had asked his son to visit during the summer of 1971.<ref name="rise" /> His father helped him gain a job teaching English to Laotian military officers, from which he was dismissed after six weeks when he drew a [[Molotov cocktail]] on the blackboard.<ref>{{cite book|first=B.G.|last=Burkett|title=Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation was robbed of its heroes and history|publisher=Verity Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xd0DAAAACAAJ&q=stole+valor|isbn=978-0-9667036-0-3|year=1998}}</ref> He also claimed to have gone behind enemy lines 20 times at night to drop rice to anti-communist insurgents in planes flying {{convert|10|ft|m}} off the ground, narrowly avoiding a shrapnel wound. Two [[Air America (airline)|Air America]] pilots who were in Laos at that time said that the planes flew only during the day and no less than {{convert|500|ft|m}} from the ground. One pilot suggested that it might have been possible for Duke to have gone on a safe "milk run" once or twice but no more than that. Duke was unable to recall the name of the airfield he had used.<ref name="rise" />

=== 1972 arrest in New Orleans ===
In January 1972, Duke was arrested in New Orleans for [[Riot|inciting a riot]]. Several racial confrontations broke out that month in the city, including one at the [[Robert E. Lee Monument (New Orleans, Louisiana)|Robert E. Lee Monument]] involving Duke, Addison Roswell Thompson—a perennial [[Racial segregation in the United States|segregationist]] candidate for [[governor of Louisiana]] and [[mayor of New Orleans]]—and his 89-year-old friend and mentor, Rene LaCoste. Thompson and LaCoste dressed in Klan robes for the occasion and placed a [[Flags of the Confederate States of America|Confederate flag]] at the monument. The [[Black Panther Party|Black Panthers]] began throwing bricks at the two men, but police arrived in time to prevent serious injury.<ref name="sims">{{cite book|last=Sims|first=Patsy|url=https://archive.org/details/klan00sims|title=The Klan|date=1996|publisher=[[University Press of Kentucky]]|isbn=9780813108872|edition=2nd|location=[[Lexington, Kentucky|Lexington]], [[Kentucky]]|pages=[https://archive.org/details/klan00sims/page/152 152]–153|access-date=August 1, 2014|url-access=registration}}</ref>

In 1972, Duke was charged with soliciting campaign funds for presidential candidate [[George Wallace]] and keeping the proceeds. He was also charged with filling glass containers with a flammable liquid, banned under a New Orleans ordinance. Both charges were eventually dropped.<ref name="SPLCprofile" />

=== Knights of the Ku Klux Klan ===
In 1974, Duke founded the Louisiana-based [[Ku Klux Klan#Knights of the Ku Klux Klan|Knights of the Ku Klux Klan]] (KKKK), shortly after graduating from LSU.<ref name="SPLCprofile">{{cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/david-duke|title=David Duke|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126171308/https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/david-duke|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|access-date=February 15, 2020|archive-date=January 26, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Rose, Douglas. ''The Emergence of David Duke and the Politics of Race'' University of North Carolina Press. 1992</ref> He became the KKKK's "grand wizard" in 1976.<ref name="Reed" /> Duke first received broad public attention during this time, as he endeavored to market himself in the mid-1970s as a new brand of Klansman: well-groomed, engaged, and professional. He also reformed the organization, promoting nonviolence and legality;{{Third-party inline|date=March 2023}} also, for the first time in the Klan's history, women were accepted as equal members and [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] were encouraged to apply for membership.<ref>{{cite web|title=Photo of David Duke at a Klan cross lighting ceremony|url=http://www.aliciapatterson.org/APF1503/Berry/Berry01.jpg|access-date=September 2, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060829200801/http://www.aliciapatterson.org/APF1503/Berry/Berry01.jpg|archive-date=August 29, 2006}}</ref> Duke repeatedly insisted that the Klan was "not anti-black" but rather "pro-white" and "pro-Christian". He told the ''[[The Daily Telegraph|Daily Telegraph]]'' newspaper that he left the Klan in 1980 because he disliked its associations with violence and could not stop members of other Klan chapters from doing "stupid or violent things".<ref>{{cite web|last=Leonard|first=Tom|title=David Duke: Nick Griffin was 'lynched' on Question Time|date=October 23, 2009|website=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6419715/David-Duke-Nick-Griffin-was-lynched-on-Question-Time.html|access-date=January 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403121638/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6419715/David-Duke-Nick-Griffin-was-lynched-on-Question-Time.html|archive-date=April 3, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 1992, [[Julia Evans Reed|Julia Reed]] wrote in ''[[The New York Review of Books]]'' that Duke was forced to leave the Klan after selling a copy of its membership records to a rival Klan leader who was a [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] informer.<ref name="Reed" />

== Political and ideological activities ==
=== Early campaigns ===
Duke first ran for a seat in the [[Louisiana State Senate]] as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] from a [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]] district in 1975. During his campaign, he was allowed to speak on the college campuses of [[Vanderbilt University]], [[Indiana University]], the [[University of Southern California]], [[Stanford University]], and [[Tulane University]].<ref>{{cite news |title=David Ernest Duke: 'My race has never been defeated, and we will not fall this time.' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/67860148/?terms=%22vanderbilt%2Buniversity%22%2B%22ku%2Bklux%2Bklan%22 |newspaper=The Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) |date=January 20, 1975 |page=4 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=July 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019072853/http://www.newspapers.com/image/67860148/?terms=%22vanderbilt%2Buniversity%22%2B%22ku%2Bklux%2Bklan%22 |archive-date=October 19, 2015|url-status=live }} {{Open access}}</ref> He received 11,079 votes, one-third of those cast.<ref name="Applebome91" /><ref>{{cite news|last=King|first=Wayne|title=David Duke:Cleaning up the Klan's image |date=November 25, 1975|work=St. Petersburg Times via New York Times|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=JjIMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4666,22684&dq=david-duke|access-date=January 16, 2011}}</ref>

Duke ran for a seat in the state senate again in 1979, losing to the incumbent, Joe Tiemann.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77750459/the-times/ |title=Duke Files |date=August 23, 1979 |work=[[The Times (Shreveport)|The Times]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210515210442/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77750459/the-times/ |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |url-status=live |page=4 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77750478/the-town-talk/ |title=Duke Places Second |date=October 29, 1979 |work=The Town Talk |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210515210606/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77750478/the-town-talk/ |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |url-status=live |page=30 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

In the late 1970s, several Klan officials accused Duke of stealing the organization's money. "Duke is nothing but a con artist", Jack Gregory, Duke's Florida state leader, told the ''Clearwater Sun'' after Duke allegedly refused to turn over proceeds from a series of 1979 Klan rallies to the Knights. Another Klan official under Duke, Jerry Dutton, told reporters that Duke had used Klan funds to purchase and refurbish his home in [[Metairie, Louisiana|Metairie]]. Duke later justified the repairs by saying most of his home was used by the Klan.

He ran for the Democratic [[1980 Democratic Party presidential primaries|presidential nomination]] during the [[1980 United States presidential election|1980 presidential election]]. Despite being six years too young to be president, Duke attempted to place his name on the ballot in 12 states, saying he wanted to be a power broker who could "select issues and form a platform representing the majority of this country" at the Democratic National Convention.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77742707/the-times/ |title=Duke to run |date=May 21, 1979 |work=[[The Times (Shreveport)|The Times]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210515204119/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77742707/the-times/ |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |url-status=live |page=10 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77749381/the-times/ |title=Ku Klux Klansman egged on Alexandria street |date=June 23, 1979 |work=[[The Times (Shreveport)|The Times]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210515204459/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77749381/the-times/ |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |url-status=live |page=4 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> In 1979, he pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace when he led 70 to 100 Klansmen to surround police vehicles in a Metairie hotel parking lot in September 1976, and was fined $100 and given a three-month suspended sentence. Duke and James K. Warner had originally been convicted on that charge in 1977, but the [[Louisiana Supreme Court]] had reversed the ruling because the state had introduced inadmissible evidence.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77750073/the-town-talk/ |title=Deputies Say Klan Chief Stirred Metairie Trouble |date=August 22, 1979 |work=The Town Talk |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210515205800/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77750073/the-town-talk/ |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |url-status=live |page=32 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77750180/daily-world/ |title=KKK Leader Sentenced |date=December 7, 1979 |work=Daily World |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210515210045/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77750180/daily-world/ |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |url-status=live |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Duke was arrested for illegally entering Canada in order to discuss third-world immigration into Canada on a talk show.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77749747/the-shreveport-journal/ |title=Metairie Klansman Charged With Illegal Entry to Canada |date=April 2, 1980 |work=[[Shreveport Journal]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210515205210/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77749747/the-shreveport-journal/ |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |url-status=live |page=20 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

He left the Ku Klux Klan in 1980, after he was accused of trying to sell the organization's mailing list for $35,000. He founded the [[National Association for the Advancement of White People]] and served as its president after leaving the Klan.<ref name="Applebome91" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77749509/the-daily-advertiser/ |title=From Klan: Rival Says Duke's Resignation Forced |date=July 24, 1980 |work=[[The Daily Advertiser (Lafayette, Louisiana)|The Daily Advertiser]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210515204709/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77749509/the-daily-advertiser/ |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |url-status=live |page=1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref name="Beckett-2020" /> Using the group's newsletter, he promoted [[Holocaust denial]] literature for sale such as <!-- The source merges the titles of these two separate works. -->''[[The Hoax of the Twentieth Century]]'' and ''[[Did Six Million Really Die?]]''<ref name="Reed" />

Duke allegedly conducted a [[Advertising mail|direct-mail]] appeal in 1987, using the identity and mailing-list of the [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] [[Nationalist Movement|Forsyth County Defense League]] without permission. League officials described it as a fundraising scam.<ref>{{cite web |author=Martin A. Lee |url=http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2003/spring/insatiable?page=0,1 |title=Southern Poverty Law Center |publisher=Splcenter.org |access-date=May 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923120459/http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2003/spring/insatiable?page=0,1 |archive-date=September 23, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== 1988 presidential campaign ===
{{main|David Duke 1988 presidential campaign}}

In 1988, Duke ran initially in the [[1988 Democratic Party presidential primaries|Democratic presidential primaries]]. His campaign had limited impact, with one minor exception — as the only candidate on the ballot, he won the little-known [[New Hampshire primary#Vice-Presidential results|New Hampshire vice presidential primary]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1988 New Hampshire Presidential Primary, February 16, 1988 Democratic Results |url=http://politicallibrary.org/TallState/1988dem.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020827164047/http://politicallibrary.org/TallState/1988dem.html |archive-date=August 27, 2002 |access-date=June 2, 2022 |website=The Library and Archives of New Hampshire's Political Tradition}}</ref> Duke, having failed to gain much traction as a Democrat, then sought and gained the [[President of the United States|presidential]] nomination of the [[Populist Party (United States, 1984)|Populist Party]], an organization founded by [[Willis Carto]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hinshaw |first=Seth |title=Ohio Elects the President: Our State's Role in Presidential Elections 1804-1996 |publisher=Book Masters, Inc |year=2000 |location=Mansfield |pages=164}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Martin|first=Douglas|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/02/us/willis-carto-far-right-figure-and-holocaust-denier-dies-at-89.html|title=Willis Carto, Far-Right Figure and Holocaust Denier, Dies at 89|work=The New York Times|date=November 1, 2015|access-date=July 29, 2020}}</ref> He appeared on the ballot for president in 11 states and was a write-in candidate in some other states, some with Trenton Stokes of [[Arkansas]] for vice president, and on other state ballots with Floyd Parker, a [[physician]] from [[New Mexico]],<ref name="rise" /> for vice president. He received 47,047 votes, or 0.04% of the national popular vote.<ref>D.C. Finegold-Sachs (2005). D.C.'s Political Report. [http://www.dcpoliticalreport.com/members/1988/pres88.htm 1988 Presidential Candidates] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729125656/http://www.dcpoliticalreport.com/members/1988/pres88.htm |date=July 29, 2016}}. Retrieved April 4, 2009.</ref>

=== 1989: Successful run in special election for Louisiana House seat ===
In December 1988, Duke changed his political affiliation from the Democratic Party to the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CXzQ2VSpyZsC&q=John%20Treen%20of%20Louisiana&pg=PA20|title=Michael Zatarain, ''David Duke: Evolution of a Klansman''|access-date=November 11, 2009|isbn=978-0-88289-817-9|last=Zatarain|first=Michael|date=July 1990|publisher=Pelican }}</ref>

In 1988, Republican state representative [[Chuck Cusimano]] of [[Metairie, Louisiana|Metairie]] resigned his District 81 seat to become a 24th Judicial District Court judge, and a [[special election]] was called early in 1989 to select a successor. Duke entered the race to succeed Cusimano and faced several opponents, including fellow Republicans John Spier Treen, a brother of former [[Governor of Louisiana|governor]] [[David C. Treen]]; Delton Charles, a school board member; and Roger F. Villere Jr., who operates Villere's Florist in Metairie. Duke finished first in the primary with 3,995 votes (33.1%).<ref name="results 1989">{{Cite web |title=Official Results: Sat Jan 21 1989 |url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/graphical |access-date=June 2, 2022 |website=Louisiana Secretary of State}}</ref> As no one received a majority of the vote in the first round, a [[runoff election]] was required between Duke and Treen, who polled 2,277 votes (18.9%) in the first round of balloting. Treen's candidacy was endorsed by U.S. president [[George H. W. Bush]], former president [[Ronald Reagan]], and other prominent Republicans,<ref>"GOP Condemns Duke" ''[[Newsday]]''. Long Island, N.Y.: February 25, 1989, pg. 9</ref> as well as Democrats Victor Bussie (president of the Louisiana [[AFL–CIO]]) and Edward J. Steimel (president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and former director of the "good government" [[think tank]], the Public Affairs Research Council). Duke criticized Treen for a statement he had made indicating willingness to entertain higher [[property tax]]es, anathema in that suburban district.<ref>Douglas D. Rose, ''The Emergence of David Duke and the Politics of Race'' (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992), p. iii ({{ISBN|978-0-8078-4381-9}}); see also Michael Zatarain, ''David Duke: Evolution of a Klansman'' (Gretna, LA: Pelican, 1990), {{ISBN|0-88289-817-5}}, {{ISBN|978-0-88289-817-9}}.</ref> With 8,459 votes (50.7%), Duke defeated Treen, who polled 8,232 votes (49.3%).<ref name="results 1989" /> He served in the House from 1989 until 1992.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembers1812_2008.pdf |title=Membership of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812–2008 |publisher=house.louisiana.gov |access-date=November 8, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331104823/http://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembers1812_2008.pdf |archive-date=March 31, 2010}}</ref>

Freshman legislator Odon Bacqué of [[Lafayette, Louisiana|Lafayette]], a [[Independent (politics)|No Party]] member of the House, stood alone in 1989 when he attempted to deny seating to Duke on the grounds that the incoming representative had resided outside his district at the time of his election. When Treen failed in a court challenge in regard to Duke's residency, the latter was seated. Lawmakers who opposed Duke said that they had to defer to his constituents, who narrowly chose him as representative.<ref>[[Ron Gomez]], "David Duke? He's Just Another Freshman", ''My Name Is Ron And I'm a Recovering Legislator: Memoirs of a Louisiana State Representative'', [[Lafayette, Louisiana|Lafayette]], [[Louisiana]]: Zemog Publishing, 2000, pp. 157-164; {{ISBN|0-9700156-0-7}}</ref>

=== As state representative ===
Duke took his seat on the same day as Jerry Luke LeBlanc of [[Lafayette Parish, Louisiana|Lafayette Parish]] (who won another special election, held on the same day as the Duke-Treen runoff, to choose a successor to [[Kathleen Blanco]], the future governor who was elected to the [[Louisiana Public Service Commission]]). Duke and LeBlanc were sworn in separately.

Colleague Ron Gomez of Lafayette stated that Duke, as a short-term legislator, was "so single minded, he never really became involved in the nuts and bolts of House rules and parliamentary procedure. It was just that shortcoming that led to the demise of most of his attempts at lawmaking."<ref>Gomez, ''My Name Is Ron And I'm a Recovering Legislator'', pg. 230</ref>

One legislative issue pushed by Duke was the requirement that [[welfare spending|welfare]] recipients be tested for the use of [[narcotics]]. The recipients had to show themselves to be drug-free to receive state and federal benefits under his proposal.<ref>"Duke welfare bill wins panel favor," ''[[Minden Press-Herald]]'', May 9, 1989, pg. 1</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Benton|first=Joshua|author-link=Joshua Benton|title=National: David Duke Reverts to Unabashed Racism in Congress run|date=May 1, 1999|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|publisher=Block News Alliance|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/headlines/19990501davidduke3.asp|access-date=September 1, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929210418/http://www.post-gazette.com/headlines/19990501davidduke3.asp|archive-date=September 29, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Gullixson|first=Paul|title=Part 4: Taking on David Duke|date=April 12, 1995|work=Palo Alto Weekly|url=http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/page4/1995_Apr_12.NOTES12.html|access-date=September 2, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013161207/http://paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/page4/1995_Apr_12.NOTES12.html|archive-date=October 13, 2007|url-status=live}}</ref> Gomez, in his 2000 autobiography, said that he recalls Duke obtaining the passage of only a single bill, legislation which prohibited movie producers or book publishers from compensating jurors for accounts of their court experiences.<ref>Gomez, ''Recovering Legislator'', pgs. 231-2</ref>

Duke launched unsuccessful campaigns for the [[U.S. Senate]] in 1990 and governor in 1991.<ref>{{cite book|last=Atkins|first=Stephen E. |author-link=Stephen E. Atkins|title=Encyclopedia of Right-Wing Extremism In Modern American History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wf6-K_uVs8QC&pg=PA53|date=September 13, 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-351-4|pages=53–}}</ref>

=== 1990 campaign for U.S. Senate ===
{{Main|1990 United States Senate election in Louisiana}}
Though Duke had first hesitated about entering the Senate race, he made his announcement of candidacy for the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 6, 1990. Duke was the only Republican in competition against three Democrats, including incumbent U.S. senator [[Bennett Johnston, Jr.|J. Bennett Johnston, Jr.]], of [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]],<ref name="Guide to U.S. Elections">{{Cite book |title=Guide to U.S. Elections |publisher=[[CQ Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-60426-536-1 |editor-last=Kalb |editor-first=Deborah |location=Washington, DC |pages=1501}}</ref> whom Duke derided as "J. Benedict Johnston".<ref>"Can Johnston be beaten?", ''Minden Press-Herald'', November 19, 1989, p. 1</ref>

Former governor [[David Treen]], whose brother, John Treen, Duke had defeated for state representative in 1989, called Duke's senatorial platform "garbage. ... I think he is bad for our party because of his espousal of Nazism and racial superiority."<ref>"Treen: Renounce David Duke's 'garbage{{' "}}, ''Minden Press-Herald'', December 22, 1989, p. 7A</ref>

The Republican Party officially endorsed state senator [[Ben Bagert]] of New Orleans in a state convention on January 13, 1990, but national GOP officials in October, just days before the primary election, concluded that Bagert could not win. To avoid a runoff between Duke and Johnston, the GOP decided to surrender the primary to Johnston. Funding for Bagert's campaign was halted, and after initial protest, Bagert dropped out two days before the election. With such a late withdrawal, Bagert's name remained on the ballot, but his votes, most of them presumably cast as absentee ballots, were not counted.<ref>{{cite news |title=Republican quits to help Democrat |author=Kevin McGill |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nwghAAAAIBAJ&pg=3886,613940&dq=duke+1990+not+endorsed |newspaper=The Hour |date=October 5, 1990 |access-date=September 7, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Louisiana Republican Quits, Reducing Duke's Chances|date=October 5, 1990|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Duke received 43.51% (607,391 votes) of the primary vote to Johnston's 53.93% (752,902 votes).<ref name="Guide to U.S. Elections"/>

Duke's views prompted some of his critics, including Republicans such as journalist [[Quin Hillyer]], to form the Louisiana Coalition Against Racism and Nazism, which directed media attention to Duke's statements of hostility to blacks and [[Jews]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Monteverde|first=Danny|title=Elizabeth Rickey, GOP activist|newspaper=[[The Times-Picayune]]|date=September 15, 2009|url=http://www.nola.com/obituaries/t-p/index.ssf?/base/obits-33/125299209991370.xml&coll=2|access-date=September 15, 2009}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In a 2006 ''[[Financial Times]]'' editorial, [[Gideon Rachman]] recalled interviewing Duke's 1990 campaign manager, who said, "The Jews just aren't a big issue in Louisiana. We keep telling David, stick to attacking the blacks. There's no point in going after the Jews, you just piss them off and nobody here cares about them anyway."<ref>{{cite web|last=Rachman|first=Gideon|title=Iran, David Duke and me|date=December 12, 2006|publisher=rachmanblogg on FT.com|url=http://blogs.ft.com/rachmanblog/2006/12/iran_david_duke.html#more|access-date=December 13, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061213212318/http://blogs.ft.com/rachmanblog/2006/12/iran_david_duke.html#more|archive-date=December 13, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== 1991 campaign for governor of Louisiana ===
{{Main|1991 Louisiana gubernatorial election}}
[[File:French Quarter shop window New Orleans 1991 - No DuKKKes 01.jpg|thumb|Anti-David Duke [[voodoo doll]] on display in New Orleans during his gubernatorial campaign]]
Despite repudiation by the Republican Party,<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news|last=Suro|first=Roberto|title=The 1991 Election: Louisiana; Bush Denounces Duke As Racist and Charlatan|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/07/us/the-1991-election-louisiana-bush-denounces-duke-as-racist-and-charlatan.html|access-date=April 19, 2009|date=November 7, 1991|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425070100/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/07/us/the-1991-election-louisiana-bush-denounces-duke-as-racist-and-charlatan.html|archive-date=April 25, 2009|url-status=live}}</ref> Duke ran for governor of Louisiana in 1991. In the primary, he finished second to former governor [[Edwin W. Edwards]]; thus, he faced Edwards in a runoff. In the initial round, Duke received 32% of the vote. Incumbent governor [[Buddy Roemer]], who had switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party during his term, came in third with 27% of the vote. Although Duke had a sizable core constituency of devoted supporters, many voted for him as a "protest vote" to register dissatisfaction with Louisiana's establishment politicians. In response to criticism for his past white supremacist activities, Duke's stock response was to apologize for his past and declare that he was a born-again Christian.<ref name="Los Angeles Times">{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-11-24-op-92-story.html |title=Duke Gets His Comeuppance From the Victims of His Hate Message : Politics: Up until an amazing TV exchange, Louisiana's blacks had remained on the sidelines. Then they flooded the polls |website=Los Angeles Times |date=November 24, 1991 |access-date=November 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220232948/http://articles.latimes.com/1991-11-24/opinion/op-92_1_duke-blacks-louisiana |archive-date=December 20, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the campaign, he said he was the spokesman for the "white majority"<ref>"David Duke Going for U.S. Senate seat" Sheila Grissett East Jefferson bureau. ''[[The Times-Picayune]]'' New Orleans, La.: February 23, 1996. pg. B1</ref> and, according to ''[[The New York Times]]'', "equated the extermination of Jews in Nazi Germany with affirmative action programs in the United States".<ref name="nytimes.com" />

The [[Christian Coalition of America]], which exerted considerable impact on the Republican State Central Committee, was led in Louisiana by its national director and vice president, [[Billy McCormack (Louisiana pastor)|Billy McCormack]], then the pastor of University Worship Center in [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]]. The coalition was accused of having failed to investigate Duke in the early part of his political resurgence. But by the 1991 gubernatorial election, its leadership had withdrawn support for Duke.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theocracywatch.org/clarkson_inside.html|title=Frederick Clarkson, "Church and State", November 1993|work=theocracywatch.org|access-date=June 6, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005042308/http://theocracywatch.org/clarkson_inside.html|archive-date=October 5, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite Duke's status as the only Republican in the runoff, incumbent president [[George H. W. Bush]] opposed his candidacy and denounced him as a charlatan and a racist.<ref name="nytimes.com" /> White House chief of staff [[John H. Sununu]] said, "The president is absolutely opposed to the kind of racist statements that have come out of David Duke now and in the past."<ref>{{cite news|last=West|first=Paul|date=October 21, 1991|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1991/10/21/winners-set-stage-for-racially-charged-la-runoff/|title=Winners set stage for racially charged La. runoff|work=The Baltimore Sun}}</ref>

The Louisiana Coalition Against Racism and Nazism rallied against Duke's gubernatorial campaign. [[Elizabeth Rickey]], a moderate member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee and niece of [[Branch Rickey]], began to follow Duke to record his speeches and expose what she saw as instances of racist and neo-Nazi remarks. For a time, Duke took Rickey to lunch, introduced her to his daughters, telephoned her late at night, and tried to convince her of his beliefs, including that [[Holocaust denial|the Holocaust was a myth]], [[Auschwitz concentration camp|Auschwitz]] physician [[Josef Mengele]] was a medical genius, and that blacks and Jews were responsible for various social ills. Rickey released transcripts of their conversations to the press and also provided evidence establishing that Duke sold Nazi literature (such as ''[[Mein Kampf]]'') from his legislative office and attended neo-Nazi political gatherings while he held elective office.<ref>Stern, Kenneth (September 16, 2009). [http://forward.com/articles/114205/elizabeth-rickey-derailed-david-duke/ "Elizabeth Rickey, Derailed David Duke."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118101939/http://forward.com/articles/114205/elizabeth-rickey-derailed-david-duke/ |date=November 18, 2016 }} ''The Jewish Daily Forward''</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Sullivan|first=Patricia|title=Beth Rickey dies with an immune disorder and Crohn's disease|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 16, 2009}}</ref>

Between the primary and the runoff, called the "general election" under Louisiana election rules (in which all candidates run on one ballot, regardless of party), [[white supremacist]] organizations from around the country contributed to Duke's campaign fund.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Martin A.|title=Detailing David Duke|year=2003|website=Intelligence Report|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|url=http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=27|access-date=August 31, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061002073754/http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=27|archive-date=October 2, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ADLIHW" />

Duke's rise garnered national media attention. While he gained the backing of former [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]] mayor John K. Snyder, Duke won few serious endorsements in Louisiana. Celebrities and organizations donated thousands of dollars to former governor [[Edwin Edwards]]' campaign. Referencing Edwards' long-standing problem with accusations of corruption, popular bumper stickers read: "Vote for the Crook. It's Important",<ref>{{cite news|last=Appelbome|first=Peter|title=An Epoch Is Ending But Why?|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/08/us/an-epoch-is-ending-but-why.html|access-date=January 16, 2011|date=June 8, 1994|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403134318/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/08/us/an-epoch-is-ending-but-why.html|archive-date=April 3, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://photos.nola.com/tpphotos/2011/12/175duke.html Photo of bumper sticker] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925004604/http://photos.nola.com/tpphotos/2011/12/175duke.html |date=September 25, 2012 }}, New Orleans, ''The Times-Picayune''</ref> and "Vote for the Lizard, not the Wizard." When a reporter asked Edwards what he needed to do to triumph over Duke, Edwards replied with a smile: "Stay alive."

The runoff debate, held on November 6, 1991, received significant attention when journalist [[Norman Robinson (television news reporter)|Norman Robinson]] questioned Duke. Robinson, who is African American, told Duke that he was "scared" by the prospect of Duke winning the election because of his history of "diabolical, evil, vile" racist and antisemitic comments, some of which he read to Duke. He then pressed Duke for an apology and when Duke protested that Robinson was not being fair to him, Robinson replied that he did not think Duke was being honest. [[Jason Berry]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' called it "startling TV" and the "catalyst" for the "overwhelming" turnout of black voters who helped Edwards defeat Duke.<ref name="Los Angeles Times"/>

Edwards received 1,057,031 votes (61.2%), while Duke's 671,009 votes represented 38.8% of the total. Duke nevertheless claimed victory, saying, "I won my constituency. I won 55% of the white vote", a statistic confirmed by exit polls.<ref name="rise" /> Duke, rather than Edwards, was on network television the following day; his rival refused to appear with him.<ref name="Reed" />

=== 1992 Republican Party presidential candidate ===
{{main|1992 Republican Party presidential primaries}} {{main|David Duke 1992 presidential campaign}}

Duke ran as a Republican in the [[Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1992|1992 presidential primaries]], although Republican Party officials tried to block his participation.<ref>{{cite news|title=Officials reject putting Duke on ballot for state primary|first=Edward T.|last=McHugh|work=Telegram & Gazette. |location=Worcester, Mass.|date=December 13, 1991|page=A.4}}</ref> He received 119,115 (0.94%) votes<ref>{{Cite book |title=Guide to U.S. Elections |publisher=[[CQ Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-60426-536-1 |editor-last=Kalb |editor-first=Deborah |location=Washington, DC |pages=451}}</ref> in the primaries, but no delegates to the [[1992 Republican National Convention]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hinshaw |first=Seth |title=Ohio Elects the President: Our State's Role in Presidential Elections 1804-1996 |publisher=Book Masters, Inc |year=2000 |location=Mansfield |pages=168}}</ref>

Claiborne Darden, an Atlanta pollster, stated that "there is no question that Duke would have done better if [[Pat Buchanan|Buchanan]] had not gotten into the race," and Duke stated that "the publicity went to Buchanan". At the time Duke ended his campaign he had around $60,000 in debt.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-23-mn-1312-story.html |title=Duke Ends Presidential Bid, Blames Hostile GOP |date=April 23, 1992 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210515183311/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-23-mn-1312-story.html |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A 1992 documentary film, ''Backlash: Race and the American Dream'', investigates Duke's appeal among some white voters. It explores the [[Demagogue|demagogic]] issues of Duke's platform, examining his use of black crime, welfare, affirmative action and white supremacy, and tying Duke to a legacy of other [[white backlash]] politicians, such as [[Lester G. Maddox]] and George Wallace, and the use in the successful [[George H. W. Bush 1988 presidential campaign|1988 presidential campaign]] of [[George H. W. Bush]] of these same racially themed hot buttons.<ref>{{cite news|title=Examining the Appeal of David Duke's Oratory|date=July 10, 1992|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

=== 1996 campaign for U.S. Senate ===
{{main|1996 United States Senate election in Louisiana}}

When Johnston announced his retirement in 1996, Duke ran again for the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]]. He polled 141,489 votes (11.5%). Former Republican state representative [[Woody Jenkins]] of Baton Rouge and Democrat [[Mary Landrieu]] of New Orleans, the former state treasurer, went into the general election contest. Duke was fourth in the nine-person, [[Nonpartisan blanket primary|jungle primary]] race.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02E5DC163EF930A35752C0A96F958260 David Duke Heads North to Raise Money for House Race"] By Michael Janofsky, ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 3, 1999</ref>

=== 1999 campaign for U.S. House ===
A special election was [[1999 Louisiana's 1st congressional district special election|held in Louisiana's First Congressional District]] following the sudden resignation of Republican incumbent [[Bob Livingston]] in 1999. Duke sought the seat as a Republican and received 19% of the vote. He finished a close third, thus failing to make the runoff. His candidacy was repudiated by the Republicans.<ref name=livingston>{{cite news|last=Edsall|first=Thomas B.|title=David Duke to Seek Livingston's Seat|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 21, 1998|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/keyraces99/stories/duke122198.htm|access-date=September 20, 2008|quote=Yesterday, the party moved quickly once again to disassociate itself from Duke. Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson declared: 'There is no room in the party of Lincoln for a Klansman like David Duke.'|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805060453/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/keyraces99/stories/duke122198.htm|archive-date=August 5, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Republican Party chairman [[Jim Nicholson (U.S. politician)|Jim Nicholson]] remarked: "There is no room in the party of [[Abraham Lincoln|Lincoln]] for a Klansman like David Duke."<ref name=livingston /> Republican state representative [[David Vitter]] (later a U.S. senator) defeated former governor Treen. Also in the race was the New Orleans Republican leader Rob Couhig.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Guide to U.S. Elections |publisher=[[CQ Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-60426-536-1 |editor-last=Kalb |editor-first=Deborah |location=Washington, DC |pages=1362}}</ref>

=== New Orleans Protocol ===
Duke organized a weekend gathering of "European Nationalists" in [[Kenner, Louisiana]]. In an attempt to overcome the splintering and division in the white nationalist movement that had followed the 2002 death of leader [[William Luther Pierce]], Duke presented a unity proposal for peace within the movement and a better image for outsiders. His proposal was accepted and is now known as the New Orleans Protocol. It pledges adherents to a pan-European outlook, recognizing national and ethnic allegiance, but stressing the value of all European peoples. Signed by and sponsored by a number of white supremacist leaders and organizations, it has three provisions:<ref>{{cite web |title=The New Orleans Protocol |url=http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=477 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040803164416/http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=477 |archive-date=August 3, 2004 |publisher=[[Canadian Heritage Alliance]] website}}</ref><ref name="SPLC-2004">{{cite web |title=Freed from prison, David Duke mounts a comeback |url=http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=477 |publisher=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]] Intelligence Report, Summer 2004 |access-date=September 21, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927194814/http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=477 |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 1. Zero tolerance for violence. 2. Honorable and ethical behavior in relations with other signatory groups. This includes not denouncing others who have signed this protocol. In other words, no enemies on the right. 3. Maintaining a high tone in our arguments and public presentations.{{Third-party inline|date=November 2023}}

Those who signed the pact on May 29, 2004, include Duke, [[Don Black (white supremacist)|Don Black]], [[Paul Fromm (activist)|Paul Fromm]], [[Willis Carto]] (whose Holocaust-denying ''[[The Barnes Review]]'' helped sponsor the event), [[Kevin Alfred Strom]], and [[John Tyndall (politician)|John Tyndall]] (signing as an individual, not on behalf of the [[British National Party]]).<ref name="SPLC-2004" />

The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] (SPLC) said that the NOP's "high tone" contrasts with statements at the event where the pact was signed, such as Paul Fromm's calling a Muslim woman "a hag in a bag" and Sam Dickson (from the [[Council of Conservative Citizens]], another sponsor) speaking about the "very, very destructive" effect of opposing the Nazis in World War II—opposition that caused people to view Hitler's "normal, healthy racial values" as evil.<ref name="SPLC-2004" /> The SPLC called the NOP a "smokescreen", saying that "most of the conference participants' ire was directed at what they consider to be a worldwide Jewish conspiracy to destroy the white race through immigration and miscegenation".<ref>{{cite web|date=June 2004|title=White Supremacists Target Jews in New Alliance|url=http://www.splcenter.org/center/splcreport/article.jsp?aid=83|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019031428/http://www.splcenter.org/center/splcreport/article.jsp?aid=83|website=[[Southern Poverty Law Center]]|archive-date=October 19, 2009}}</ref>

=== Political activity (1999–2012) ===
Duke joined the [[Reform Party of the United States of America|Reform Party]] in 1999. He left the party after the [[2000 United States presidential election|2000 election]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Nagourney|first=Adam|title=Reform Bid Said to Be a No-Go for Trump|date=February 14, 2000|agency=The New York Times|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/021400wh-ref-trump.html|access-date=January 20, 2021}}</ref>

In 2004, Duke's bodyguard, roommate, and longtime associate Roy Armstrong ran for the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]] as a Democrat, to serve Louisiana's First Congressional District. In the open primary, Armstrong finished second in the six-candidate field with 6.69% of the vote to Republican [[Bobby Jindal]]'s 78.40%.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Guide to U.S. Elections |publisher=[[CQ Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-60426-536-1 |editor-last=Kalb |editor-first=Deborah |location=Washington, DC |pages=1374}}</ref> Duke was the head advisor of Armstrong's campaign.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sabludowsky |first=Steve |title=David Duke Close Associate Runs for Congress in Race With Indian-American Bobby Jindal |date=August 6, 2004 |publisher=BayouBuzz.com |url=http://www.bayoubuzz.com/articles.aspx?aid=2044 |access-date=September 1, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051124153531/http://www.bayoubuzz.com/articles.aspx?aid=2044 |archive-date=November 24, 2005 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Burdeau|first=Cain|title=KKK Leader David Duke's Home is Raided by Federal Agents|date=November 17, 2000|agency=Associated Press|url=http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/KKK-Duke-Home-Raided.htm|access-date=September 1, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060310030504/http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/KKK-Duke-Home-Raided.htm|archive-date=March 10, 2006}}</ref>

Duke claimed that thousands of [[Tea Party movement]] activists had urged him to run for president [[2012 United States presidential election|in 2012]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/07/16/tea.party.resolution/?fbid=gN5LJj4Sge6|title=Why we passed our Tea Party resolution|access-date=July 17, 2010|publisher=CNN|date=July 19, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515043219/http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/07/16/tea.party.resolution/?fbid=gN5LJj4Sge6|archive-date=May 15, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="darty1">{{cite web|last=Darty|first=John|title=Will Dr. David Duke Run for U.S. President?|url=http://www.davidduke.com/general/will-dr-david-duke-run-for-u-s-president_17873.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722032238/http://www.davidduke.com/general/will-dr-david-duke-run-for-u-s-president_17873.html|archive-date=July 22, 2011|work=davidduke.com|access-date=April 16, 2012}}</ref> and that he was seriously considering entering the [[Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2012|Republican Party primaries]].<ref name="darty1" /> He did not contest the primaries, which [[Mitt Romney]] won.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thenation.com/blog/171178/obama-has-great-big-mandate-and-he-must-use-it#|title=Obama's 3 Million Vote, Electoral College Landslide, Majority of States Mandate|last=Nichols|first=John|date=November 9, 2012|work=The Nation|access-date=November 18, 2012}}</ref>

=== Donald Trump advocacy ===
In 2015, it was reported by the media that Duke endorsed then presidential nominee [[Donald Trump]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Diamond|first=Jeremy|title=David Duke on Trump: He's 'the best of the lot'|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/25/politics/david-duke-donald-trump-immigration/|access-date=September 4, 2015|publisher=CNN|date=August 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150831045214/http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/25/politics/david-duke-donald-trump-immigration|archive-date=August 31, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Dann|first=Carrie|title=Donald Trump: I Don't Want David Duke's Endorsement|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-i-dont-want-david-dukes-endorsement-n416566|access-date=September 4, 2015|publisher=NBC|date=August 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906164912/http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-i-dont-want-david-dukes-endorsement-n416566|archive-date=September 6, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Duke later clarified in an interview with ''[[The Daily Beast]]'' in August 2015 that while he viewed Trump as "the best of the lot", due to [[Immigration policy of the first Donald Trump administration|his stance on immigration]], Trump's support for Israel was a deal-breaker for him, saying, "Trump has made it very clear that he's 1,000 percent dedicated to Israel, so how much is left over for America?"<ref>{{cite news|last=Resnick|first=Gideon|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/26/david-duke-donald-trump-is-too-zionist-for-me.html|title=David Duke: Donald Trump Is Too Zionist for Me|work=The Daily Beast|date=August 26, 2015|access-date=August 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529093642/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/26/david-duke-donald-trump-is-too-zionist-for-me.html|archive-date=May 29, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In December 2015, Duke said Trump speaks more radically than he does, advising that Trump's radical speech is both a positive and a negative.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Former KKK Leader Says Donald Trump's Rhetoric Might Be A Little Too Radical|url = http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/12/28/3735160/david-duke-trump-interview/|website = ThinkProgress|access-date = December 30, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151231022714/http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2015/12/28/3735160/david-duke-trump-interview/|archive-date = December 31, 2015|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = David Duke, Former Neo-Nazi, Ku Klux Klan Leader Says Donald Trump Speaks 'Radically'|url = http://www.inquisitr.com/2664950/david-duke-trump-former-kkk-leader-on-republican-poll-leader/|website = The Inquisitr News| date=December 29, 2015 |access-date = December 30, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160101190218/http://www.inquisitr.com/2664950/david-duke-trump-former-kkk-leader-on-republican-poll-leader/|archive-date = January 1, 2016|url-status = live}}</ref>

In February 2016, Duke urged his listeners to vote for Trump, saying that voting for anyone but Trump "is really treason to your heritage". Trump, Duke believed, was "by far the best candidate".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Collins|first=Eliza|url = https://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/david-duke-trump-219777|title = David Duke, Anyone besides Donald Trump 'is really treason to your heritage.'|work = Politico|access-date = February 25, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160225225522/http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/david-duke-trump-219777|archive-date = February 25, 2016|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Rappeport|first=Alan|url=https://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/02/28/donald-trump-declines-to-disavow-david-duke/|title=Donald Trump Wavers on Disavowing David Duke|work=The New York Times|date=February 28, 2016|access-date=August 30, 2019}}</ref> When asked whether he renounced Duke's support, Trump responded: "I don't know anything about David Duke. Okay?...I know nothing about white supremacists. And so you're asking me a question that I'm supposed to be talking about people that I know nothing about."<ref>{{cite news|last=Kessler|first=Glenn|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/03/01/donald-trump-and-david-duke-for-the-record/|title=Donald Trump and David Duke: For the record|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 1, 2016|access-date=August 30, 2019}}</ref> In March 2016, Trump disavowed Duke and the Klan, saying, "David Duke is a bad person" and "I disavowed him in the past. I disavow him now."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Scott |first=Eugene |date=March 3, 2016 |title=Trump denounces David Duke, KKK |url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/03/03/politics/donald-trump-disavows-david-duke-kkk/index.html |access-date=June 7, 2023 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

For the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]], Duke again expressed his preference for Donald Trump over Joe Biden, which was widely interpreted as an endorsement.<ref name="Indy20200709">{{cite news|last=Naughtie|first=Andrew|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/kkk-trump-david-duke-tucker-carlson-election-2020-a9609491.html|title=Former KKK leader endorses Trump for president again – and Tucker Carlson for VP|work=The Independent|location=London|date=July 9, 2020|access-date=July 9, 2020}}</ref> Duke urged Trump to replace his vice president, [[Mike Pence]], with talk show host [[Tucker Carlson]], asserting that such a ticket was the only way to "stop the commie Bolsheviks".<ref>{{cite news|last=Palmer|first=Ewan|url=https://www.newsweek.com/kkk-david-duke-tucker-carlson-trump-1516666|title=Former KKK Leader David Duke Says Tucker Carlson Should be Trump's VP|work=Newsweek|date=July 9, 2020|access-date=July 9, 2020}}</ref>

=== 2016 campaign for U.S. Senate ===
{{main|2016 United States Senate election in Louisiana}}

On July 22, 2016, Duke announced that he was planning to run for the Republican nomination for the [[United States Senate election in Louisiana, 2016|United States Senate seat in Louisiana]] being vacated by Republican [[David Vitter]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/david-duke-senate-louisiana-226023|title=Ex-KKK leader David Duke says he plans to run for U.S. Senate|website=[[Politico]]|date=July 22, 2016 |access-date=January 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629074230/https://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/david-duke-senate-louisiana-226023|archive-date=June 29, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> He said he was running "to defend the rights of European Americans". He claimed that his platform had become the Republican mainstream, adding, "I'm overjoyed to see Donald Trump and most Americans embrace most of the issues that I've championed for years." But [[Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign|Trump's campaign]] reaffirmed that Trump disavows Duke's support, and Republican organizations said they will not support him "under any circumstances".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/22/politics/david-duke-senate-race/|title=Former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke running for Senate seat in Louisiana|last=Scott|first=Eugene|date=July 23, 2016|work=CNN|access-date=July 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160723174544/http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/22/politics/david-duke-senate-race/|archive-date=July 23, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> On August 5, 2016, National Public Radio ([[NPR]]) aired an interview of Duke by [[Steve Inskeep]] in which Duke claimed that there is widespread racism against European Americans, that they have been subject to vicious attacks in the media, and that Trump's voters were also his voters.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/05/488802494/former-kkk-leader-david-duke-says-of-course-trump-voters-are-his-voters|title=Former KKK Leader David Duke Says 'Of Course' Trump Voters Are His Voters|work=NPR|date=August 5, 2016|access-date=January 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217191735/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/05/488802494/former-kkk-leader-david-duke-says-of-course-trump-voters-are-his-voters|archive-date=December 17, 2018|url-status=live|last1=Domonoske|first1=Camila}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.mprnews.org/newscut/2016/08/a-defense-on-steve-inskeeps-interview-with-david-duke/|title=A defense of Steve Inskeep's interview with David Duke|first=Bob|last=Collins|date=August 8, 2016 |access-date=January 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629050555/https://blogs.mprnews.org/newscut/2016/08/a-defense-on-steve-inskeeps-interview-with-david-duke/|archive-date=June 29, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:David Duke 2020.png|thumb|upright|Duke in 2020]]
A [[Mason-Dixon Polling & Research Inc.|Mason-Dixon]] poll released on October 20, 2016, showed Duke receiving support from 5.1% of voters in the state, barely clearing the 5% requirement for a candidate to be allowed to participate in a November 2 debate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/10/john_kennedy_leads_in_latest_l.html|title=John Kennedy leads in latest Louisiana Senate poll; David Duke makes debate cut|author=Richard Rainey|website=[[The Times-Picayune]]|date=October 20, 2016|access-date=October 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024170725/http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/10/john_kennedy_leads_in_latest_l.html|archive-date=October 24, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Duke received 3% of the vote on [[Election Day (United States)|Election Day]], with a total of 58,581 votes out of nearly 2 million cast. He came in 7th place in Louisiana's [[Nonpartisan blanket primary#Louisiana open primary|open primary]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/louisiana|title=Louisiana Election Results 2016|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 2017|access-date=January 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011033128/https://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/louisiana|archive-date=October 11, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Those who made donations to the campaign were publicly outed in several states in 2017, leading to boycotts, lost business, and one restaurant to close entirely.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.citypages.com/news/julius-de-roma-on-david-duke-donation-its-just-free-speech-whatever/442229233 |title=Club Jager owner Julius De Roma on David Duke donation: 'It's free speech... whatever' |last=Mullen |first=Mike |website=City Pages |access-date=September 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902092943/http://www.citypages.com/news/julius-de-roma-on-david-duke-donation-its-just-free-speech-whatever/442229233 |archive-date=September 2, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/08/31/boycott-closes-popular-santa-cruz-restaurant-owner-defends-david-duke-donations/ |title=Boycott over David Duke donations closes Santa Cruz restaurant |date=August 31, 2017 |website=The Mercury News |access-date=September 2, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902012552/http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/08/31/boycott-closes-popular-santa-cruz-restaurant-owner-defends-david-duke-donations/ |archive-date=September 2, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== 2020 United States presidential election endorsement ===
In February 2019, the media reported Duke had endorsed [[Tulsi Gabbard]] for the Democratic nomination for president and changed his [[Twitter]] banner to a picture of Gabbard. He tweeted: "Tulsi Gabbard for President. Finally a candidate who will actually put America First rather than Israel First!"<ref>{{cite news |last1=Axelrod |first1=Tal |title=Tulsi Gabbard denounces David Duke, rejects his endorsement |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/428533-david-duke-endorses-tulsi-gabbard-for-president |access-date=August 3, 2019 |work=The Hill |date=February 5, 2019}}</ref> Gabbard refused Duke's support: "I have strongly denounced David Duke's hateful views and his so-called 'support' multiple times in the past, and reject his support."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Spinelli |first1=Dan |title=POLITICS FEBRUARY 5, 2019 David Duke Has a New Favorite Candidate for 2020: Tulsi Gabbard |url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/02/david-duke-tulsi-gabbard/ |access-date=August 3, 2019 |publisher=Mother Jones |date=February 5, 2019}}</ref> After Gabbard's defeat, Duke endorsed Trump for reelection.<ref name="Indy20200709" />

=== 2024 United States presidential election endorsement ===
In October 2024, Duke endorsed [[Green Party of the United States|Green Party]] nominee [[Jill Stein]] for president of the United States, criticizing what he viewed as "Trump's subservience to the Jewish lobby" and praising Stein's opposition to the [[Gaza war]]. Stein campaign manager Jason Call disavowed Duke's endorsement, and Stein's official Twitter account described Duke as a "racist troll".<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 15, 2024 |title=Former KKK leader David Duke endorses Jill Stein |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/live-blog/trump-harris-presidential-election-live-updates-rcna175178/rcrd60274?canonicalCard=true |access-date=October 15, 2024 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite tweet |number=1846319712222708003 |user=DrJillStein |title=A racist troll has "endorsed" our campaign to draw attention to himself, and certain smear merchants are happy to platform this troll to attack us. |first=Jill |last=Stein |date= |access-date=October 16, 2024 |ref={{SfnRef|Stein|Jill|2024}}}}</ref>

== Antisemitism ==
=== Racial theories ===
In 1998, Duke self-published the autobiographical ''[[My Awakening: A Path to Racial Understanding]]''.<ref name="Foxman1999">{{cite web |last=Foxman |first=Abraham |title=David Duke's My Awakening: A Minor League Mein Kampf |date=January 1999 |publisher=Anti-Defamation League |url=http://www.adl.org/opinion/david_duke_review.asp| url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20061114030826/http://www.adl.org/opinion/david_duke_review.asp |archive-date=November 14, 2006}}</ref> The book details Duke's social philosophies, including his advocacy of [[Racial segregation|racial separation]]: "We [Whites] desire to live in our own neighborhoods, go to our own schools, work in our own cities and towns, and ultimately live as one extended family in our own nation. We shall end the racial genocide of integration. We shall work for the eventual establishment of a separate homeland for African Americans, so each race will be free to pursue its own destiny without racial conflicts and ill will."<ref name="duke_ma_39" />{{Third-party inline|date=November 2023}}

A book review by [[Abraham Foxman]], then the national director of the [[Anti-Defamation League]] (ADL), describes ''My Awakening'' as containing racist, antisemitic, sexist, and homophobic opinions.<ref name="Foxman1999" />

Duke promotes the [[white genocide conspiracy theory]] and claims that Jews are "organizing white genocide".<ref>{{cite news|last=Merrick|first=Rob|title=Google condemned by MPs after refusing to ban anti-Semitic YouTube video by ex-KKK leader |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/youtube-google-kkk-video-refuses-to-take-down-antisemitic-david-duke-a7629861.html |work=[[The Independent]] |date=March 14, 2017 |access-date=January 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723155211/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/youtube-google-kkk-video-refuses-to-take-down-antisemitic-david-duke-a7629861.html |archive-date=July 23, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Google said a video about Jewish people 'organising white genocide' didn't infringe its guidelines |url=http://uk.businessinsider.com/google-said-a-david-duke-video-about-jewish-people-organising-white-genocide-wasnt-racist-2017-3 |work=[[Business Insider]] |date=March 15, 2017 |access-date=January 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170319200921/http://uk.businessinsider.com/google-said-a-david-duke-video-about-jewish-people-organising-white-genocide-wasnt-racist-2017-3 |archive-date=March 19, 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Why I, editor of the Jewish Chronicle, think anti-Semites should be allowed on YouTube |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/15/editor-jewish-chronicle-think-anti-semites-should-allowed-youtube/ |work=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] |date=March 15, 2017 |access-date=January 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724193603/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/15/editor-jewish-chronicle-think-anti-semites-should-allowed-youtube/ |archive-date=July 24, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Face-off between MPs and social media giants over online hate speech |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/mar/14/face-off-mps-and-social-media-giants-online-hate-speech-facebook-twitter |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=March 14, 2017 |access-date=January 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009034350/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/mar/14/face-off-mps-and-social-media-giants-online-hate-speech-facebook-twitter |archive-date=October 9, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Taxpayers are funding extremism |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/taxpayers-fund-extremism-csdn0npsf |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=March 17, 2017}}</ref> In 2017, he accused [[Anthony Bourdain]] of promoting white genocide; in response, Bourdain offered to "rearrange" Duke's kneecaps.<ref>{{cite news |title=Anthony Bourdain Offers To 'Rearrange' Ex-KKK Leader David Duke's Extremities |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/anthony-bourdain-kkk-david-duke_us_58bee29fe4b0d8c45f46d6aa |work=[[HuffPost]] |date=March 7, 2017 |access-date=January 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170604115436/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/anthony-bourdain-kkk-david-duke_us_58bee29fe4b0d8c45f46d6aa |archive-date=June 4, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Anthony Bourdain offers to 'rearrange' David Duke's kneecaps |url=https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/anthony-bourdain-offers-to-rearrange-david-dukes-kneecaps |publisher=[[Fox News]] |date=March 3, 2017 |access-date=January 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724183625/http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2017/03/03/anthony-bourdain-offers-to-rearrange-david-dukes-kneecaps.html |archive-date=July 24, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

An ADL profile of Duke states: "Although Duke denies that he is a white supremacist and avoids the term in public speeches and writings, the policies and positions he advocates state clearly that white people are the only ones morally qualified to determine the rights that should apply to other ethnic groups."<ref name="ADLprofile" />

=== Claims of "Jewish supremacy" ===
[[File:David Duke and Udo Voigt (2002) cropped.jpg|right|thumb|Duke (right) with [[Udo Voigt]], the former leader of the [[National Democratic Party of Germany]] (NPD)]]

In 2001, Duke promoted his book ''Jewish Supremacism: My Awakening to the Jewish Question'' in Russia. In it, he purports to "examine and document elements of ethnic supremacism that have existed in the Jewish community from historical to modern times".<ref>{{cite web|last=Duke|first=David|title=Jewish Supremacism: Author's Preface|date=December 5, 2005|website=Jewish Supremacism|url=http://www.davidduke.com/index.php?p=129|access-date=November 16, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061029060211/http://www.davidduke.com/index.php?p=129|archive-date=October 29, 2006|url-status=dead}}</ref> The book is dedicated to [[Israel Shahak]], a critical author of what Shahak saw as supremacist religious teachings in Jewish culture. Former [[Boris Yeltsin]] press minister [[Boris Mironov (historian)|Boris Mironov]] wrote an introduction to the Russian edition, printed under the title ''The Jewish Question Through the Eyes of an American''. The work draws on the writings of [[Kevin MacDonald (evolutionary psychologist)|Kevin B. MacDonald]], including multiple uses of the same sources and citations.<ref>{{cite news|last=Beirich|first=Heidi|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2009/david-duke-boasts-academic-achievements-his-claims-similar-anti-semitic-psychology|title=David Duke Boasts Academic Achievements, His Claims Similar to Anti-Semitic Psychology Professor Kevin MacDonald|work=Intelligence Report|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|date=May 29, 2009|access-date=March 8, 2010}}</ref>

The Anti-Defamation League office in [[Moscow]] urged the Moscow prosecutor to open an investigation into Mironov. The ADL office initiated a letter from Alexander Fedulov, a prominent member of the [[Duma]], to Prosecutor General [[Vladimir Ustinov]], urging a criminal case be opened against the author and the Russian publisher of Duke's book. In his letter, Fedulov described the book as antisemitic and a violation of [[Hate crime|Russian anti-hate crime laws]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.adl.org/anti_semitism/duke_russia.html|title=David Duke in Russia|publisher=Anti-Defamation League|access-date=March 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231155744/http://archive.adl.org/anti_semitism/duke_russia.html|archive-date=December 31, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Around December 2001, the prosecutor's office closed the investigation of Boris Mironov and ''Jewish Supremacism''. In a public letter, [[Yury Biryukov]], First Deputy of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, stated that a [[Psychological evaluation|psychological examination]], which was conducted as a part of the investigation, concluded that the book and the actions of Boris Mironov did not break Russian hate-crime laws.<ref>[http://www.panorama.ru/works/patr/govpol/gov/01/12/all.html "Закрыто дело Миронова"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010162854/http://www.panorama.ru/works/patr/govpol/gov/01/12/all.html |date=October 10, 2006 }}, Русский вестник, December 19, 2001. Retrieved November 16, 2006. ('''Russian''')</ref>

The ADL has described the book as antisemitic.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adl.org/learn/extremism_in_the_news/White_Supremacy/new_orleans_052005.htm |title=David Duke's European American Conference: Racists Gather in New Orleans |publisher=ADL |access-date=May 6, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515120720/http://www.adl.org/learn/extremism_in_the_news/White_Supremacy/new_orleans_052005.htm |archive-date=May 15, 2012 }}</ref> At one time, the book was sold in the main lobby of the building of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament).<ref name="LA Times"/>

After the March 2006 publication of [[The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy|a paper on the Israel lobby]] by [[John Mearsheimer]] and [[Stephen Walt]], Duke praised the paper in a number of articles on his website, in his broadcasts, and on [[MSNBC]]'s March 21 ''[[Scarborough Country]]'' program.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna11959495 'Scarborough Country' for March 21], show transcript, NBC News, March 21, 2006.</ref> According to ''[[The New York Sun]]'', Duke wrote in an email that he was "surprised how excellent [the paper] is. It is quite satisfying to see a body in the premier American university essentially come out and validate every major point I have been making since even before the war [in Iraq] even started. ...The task before us is to wrest control of America's foreign policy and critical junctures of media from the Jewish extremist Neocons that seek to lead us into what they expectantly call World War IV."<ref name="Lake">{{cite news|last=Lake|first=Eli|url=http://www.nysun.com/article/29380|title=David Duke Claims to Be Vindicated By a Harvard Dean|work=The New York Sun|date=March 20, 2006|page=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521154103/http://www.nysun.com/article/29380|archive-date=May 21, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Foxman|first=Abraham H.|url=https://archive.org/details/deadliestliesisr0000foxm|url-access=registration|title=The Deadliest Lies: The Israel Lobby and the Myth of Jewish Control
|location=Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|year=2007|pages=[https://archive.org/details/deadliestliesisr0000foxm/page/81 81], 245}}</ref> Walt said: "I have always found Mr. Duke's views reprehensible, and I am sorry he sees this article as consistent with his view of the world".<ref name="Lake" />

In 2015, after 47 Senate Republicans warned Iran that agreements made with the U.S. that were not ratified by the Senate were liable to be repudiated by a future president, Duke told Fox News' [[Alan Colmes]] that the signatories "should become a Jew, put on a yarmulke, because they are not Americans. They have sold their soul to the Jewish power in this country and the Jewish power overseas".<ref>{{cite news|last=Coffey|first=Chris|url=https://www.algemeiner.com/2015/03/16/david-duke-accuses-gop-of-selling-soul-to-jewish-power-calls-netanyahu-a-crazy-jew/|title=David Duke Accuses GOP of Selling Soul to 'Jewish Power', Calls Netanyahu a 'Crazy Jew'|work=The Algemeiner|date=March 16, 2015|access-date=November 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122171933/https://www.algemeiner.com/2015/03/16/david-duke-accuses-gop-of-selling-soul-to-jewish-power-calls-netanyahu-a-crazy-jew/|archive-date=November 22, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Feldman |first1=Josh |title=David Duke: GOPers Behind Iran Letter Not American, Sold Souls to 'Jewish Power' |url=https://www.mediaite.com/online/david-duke-gopers-behind-iran-letter-not-american-sold-souls-to-jewish-power/ |website=Mediaite |date=March 12, 2015 |access-date=October 7, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008061247/https://www.mediaite.com/online/david-duke-gopers-behind-iran-letter-not-american-sold-souls-to-jewish-power/ |archive-date=October 8, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> His website has hosted articles by authors claiming that Jewish loan sharks own the [[Federal Reserve Bank]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Kapner|first=Brother Nathanael Kapner|title=Obama's 'Jewish Inspired' Stimulus Will Not Work|url=http://www.davidduke.com/general/obama%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98jewish-inspired%E2%80%99-stimulus-will-not-work_8216.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303000538/http://www.davidduke.com/general/obama%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98jewish-inspired%E2%80%99-stimulus-will-not-work_8216.html|archive-date=March 3, 2010}}</ref> and that Jews own Hollywood and the U.S. media.<ref>{{cite web|last=Marre|first=Texe|title=Do the Jews Own Hollywood and the American Media?|url=http://www.davidduke.com/general/zionist-media-stranglehold_8902.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313011629/http://www.davidduke.com/general/zionist-media-stranglehold_8902.html|archive-date=March 13, 2011}}</ref>

=== Supposed "Zionist control" ===
In the post-[[September 11 attacks|9/11]] issue of his newsletter, Duke wrote that "reason should tell us that even if Israeli agents were not the actual provocateurs behind the operation [on 9/11], at the very least they had prior knowledge. ...Zionists caused the attack America endured just as surely as if they themselves had piloted those planes. It was caused by the Jewish control of the American media and Congress."<ref>{{cite news|last=Levitas|first=David|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/radical-right-after-911/|title=The Radical Right After 9/11|work=The Nation|date=July 3, 2002|access-date=August 30, 2019|archive-date=August 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830220542/https://www.thenation.com/article/radical-right-after-911/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In an interview for the Iranian [[Press TV]] on September 11, 2012, Duke said: "There are Israeli fingerprints all over the whole 9/11 aspect. ...Israel has a long record of terrorism against America... there are a lot of reasons that Israel wanted 9/11 to happen. Of the [[Iraq War]], Duke said, "The Zionists orchestrated and created this war in the media, the government, and international finance."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.adl.org/blog/press-tv-zionists-masterminded-the-911-attacks|title=Press TV: Zionists "Masterminded" the 9/11 Attacks|work=Anti-Defamation League|date=September 11, 2012|access-date=August 30, 2019|archive-date=August 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806114556/https://www.adl.org/blog/press-tv-zionists-masterminded-the-911-attacks|url-status=dead}}</ref> In another appearance on Press TV the next year, Duke said Congress "is totally in the hands of the Zionists. The Zionists control the American government, lock, stock, and barrel." According to him, Jews' supposed control of the U.S. is "the world's greatest single problem".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.adl.org/blog/irans-press-tv-grants-david-duke-a-platform-for-hate|title=Iran's Press TV Grants David Duke A Platform For Hate|work=Anti-Defamation League|date=July 25, 2013|access-date=April 23, 2020|archive-date=June 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629114644/https://www.adl.org/blog/irans-press-tv-grants-david-duke-a-platform-for-hate|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Holocaust denier Ernst Zündel ===
Duke has made a number of statements supporting [[Holocaust denial|Holocaust denier]] [[Ernst Zündel]], a German emigrant in Canada.<ref>{{cite news|title=Holocaust Denial: The State of Play|date=January 22, 2004|publisher=The Australian Jewish News|url=http://www.ajn.com.au/news/news.asp?pgID=172| access-date=September 2, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060910020923/http://ajn.com.au/news/news.asp?pgID=172|archive-date=September 10, 2006}}</ref> Zündel was deported from Canada to Germany<ref>{{cite web|last=Duke|first=David|title=Free Zundel!|date=February 26, 2005|url=http://www.davidduke.com/index.php?p=263|access-date=September 2, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060218230846/http://www.davidduke.com/index.php?p=263|archive-date=February 18, 2006}}</ref> and imprisoned in Germany on charges of inciting the masses to ethnic hatred. After Zündel died in August 2017, Duke called him a "very heroic and courageous European preservationist".<ref>{{cite news|last=Kirshner|first=Sheldon|url=https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/ernst-zundel-an-indefatigable-holocaust-denier/|title=Ernst Zundel — An Indefatigable Holocaust Denier|work=The Times of Israel|date=August 9, 2018|access-date=August 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831142836/https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/ernst-zundel-an-indefatigable-holocaust-denier/|archive-date=August 31, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Activities in Ukraine and Russia (2005–2006) ===
In the 1990s, Duke traveled to Russia several times, meeting antisemitic Russian politicians such as [[Vladimir Zhirinovsky]] and [[Albert Makashov]].<ref name="SPLCprofile" />

In September 2005, the Ukrainian private university [[Interregional Academy of Personnel Management]] (MAUP), described by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) as a "University of Hate", gave Duke a [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] in history.<ref name="CFCA_DukeBio">{{cite web |title=David Duke |url=http://www.antisemitism.org.il/eng/David%20Duke |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232637/http://www.antisemitism.org.il/eng/David%20Duke |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |access-date=February 27, 2016 |website=CFCA – The Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism}}</ref><ref name=UofHate>{{cite web |url=http://www.adl.org/main_Anti_Semitism_International/maup_ukraine.htm |title=Ukraine University of Hate |date=November 3, 2006 |publisher=Anti-Defamation League |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061117000050/http://www.adl.org/main_Anti_Semitism_International/maup_ukraine.htm |archive-date=November 17, 2006 |access-date=July 1, 2025}}</ref> His doctoral thesis was titled "Zionism as a Form of Ethnic Supremacism".<ref name="CFCA_DukeBio" />  The ADL has said that MAUP is the main source of [[Antisemitism|antisemitic]] activity and publishing in Ukraine,<ref name=UofHate/> and its "anti-Semitic actions" were condemned by Foreign Minister [[Borys Tarasyuk]] and various organizations.<ref>{{cite web|title=Foreign Minister Tarasyuk: MAUP Activities Unlawful|date=January 24, 2005|publisher=Ukrainian Embassy|url=http://www.ukraineinfo.us/embassy/press-releases/press-releases-06/060125.html|access-date=November 16, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060925081559/http://www.ukraineinfo.us/embassy/press-releases/press-releases-06/060125.html|archive-date=September 25, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Gawdiak|first=Ihor|title=Ukrainian American Organization [UACC] Gratified by Official Condemnation of Anti-Semitic Institution in Ukraine|date=January 27, 2006|publisher=BRAMA News and Community Press|url=http://www.brama.com/news/press/2006/01/060127uacc_MAUP-condemnation.html|access-date=November 16, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061110123721/http://www.brama.com/news/press/2006/01/060127uacc_MAUP-condemnation.html|archive-date=November 10, 2006|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Levin|first=Mark|title=Ukraine Government Calls for Action Against Anti-Semitism|date=January 25, 2006|publisher=[[NCSJ]]|url=http://www.ncsj.org/AuxPages/012506MAUP.shtml|access-date=November 16, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061211054343/http://ncsj.org/AuxPages/012506MAUP.shtml|archive-date=December 11, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ADL Welcomes Ukraine's Strong Condemnation of University Fomenting Anti-Semitism|date=January 25, 2006|publisher=Anti-Defamation League|url=http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASInt_13/4851_13.htm|access-date=November 16, 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061115233402/http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASInt_13/4851_13.htm|archive-date=November 15, 2006}}</ref> Duke has taught an international relations course and a history course at MAUP.<ref>{{cite web |last=Blumenthal |first=Max |title=Republicanizing the Race Card |date=March 23, 2006 |website=The Nation |url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060410/blumenthal |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20110719234421/http://www.thenation.com/issue/april-10-2006 |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |access-date=November 16, 2006 }}</ref> On June 3, 2005, he co-chaired a conference named "Zionism As the Biggest Threat to Modern Civilization" sponsored by MAUP and attended by several Ukrainian public figures and politicians and [[Israel Shamir]], described by the ADL as an anti-Semitic writer.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adl.org/NR/exeres/B74CD7C8-4878-4EF8-A8BA-AFA79C54AE9D,18AA02A5-13A1-44F3-B4D4-6176E1ECC36C,frameless.htm |title=David Duke participates in anti-Semitic conference in the Ukraine |work=Anti-Defamation League|date=June 30, 2005|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515205042/http://www.adl.org/NR/exeres/B74CD7C8-4878-4EF8-A8BA-AFA79C54AE9D%2C18AA02A5-13A1-44F3-B4D4-6176E1ECC36C%2Cframeless.htm |archive-date=May 15, 2012 }}</ref>

On the weekend of June 8–10, 2006, Duke attended and spoke at the international "White World's Future" conference in Moscow, which was coordinated and hosted by Pavel Tulayev.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.davidduke.com/?p=581|title=Historic Moscow Conference|website=davidduke.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130306092107/http://www.davidduke.com/?p=581|archive-date=March 6, 2013}} </ref>

=== Iranian Holocaust conference ===
On December 11–13, 2006, at the invitation of then Iranian president [[Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]], Duke took part in the [[International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust]], an event held in Tehran questioning [[the Holocaust]]. "The Zionists have used the Holocaust as a weapon to deny the rights of the Palestinians and cover up the crimes of Israel", Duke told a gathering of nearly 70 participants. "This conference has an incredible impact on Holocaust studies all over the world", said Duke,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/kkks-david-duke-tells-iran-holocaust-conference-that-gas-chambers-not-used-to-kill-jews|title=KKK's David Duke Tells Iran Holocaust Conference That Gas Chambers Not Used to Kill Jews|date=December 13, 2006|work=Fox News}}</ref> adding, "The Holocaust is the device used as the pillar of Zionist imperialism, Zionist aggression, Zionist terror and Zionist murder."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna16149717|title=Iranian leader says Israel will be 'wiped out': Ahmadinejad renews heated rhetoric at meeting of Holocaust deniers|agency=[[Associated Press]]|work=NBC News|date=December 12, 2006}}</ref>

=== 2024 ===
In June 2024, David Duke participated in an antisemitic rally in Detroit alongside others including [[Nick Fuentes]] and [[Jake Shields]]. The group aimed to protest a [[Turning Point USA]] convention but was denied entrance to the event. Duke had expressed his support for Fuentes and others who opposed a purported "Jewish supremacism".<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 17, 2024 |title=David Duke, antisemites, Israel-haters find common cause at failed Detroit rally |url=https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-806611 |access-date=June 17, 2024 |website=The Jerusalem Post |language=en}}</ref>

== Other affiliations and associations ==
=== ''Stormfront'' ===
In 1995, [[Don Black (white supremacist)|Don Black]] and Chloê Hardin, Duke's ex-wife, began a [[bulletin board system]] (BBS) called ''[[Stormfront (website)|Stormfront]]''. The website has become a prominent online forum for [[white nationalism]], [[white separatism]], Holocaust denial, [[neo-Nazism]], [[hate speech]], and [[racism]].<ref name="dailykos">{{cite news|url=https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2005/12/05/169738/-RedState-White-Supremacy-and-Responsibility|title=RedState, White Supremacy, and Responsibility|work=[[Daily Kos]]|date=December 5, 2005|access-date=July 1, 2025}}</ref><ref name="FOX" /><ref name="WIPO">{{cite web |url=http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2001/dtv2001-0023.html |title=WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center: Case No. DTV2001-0023 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |date=January 13, 2002 |access-date=January 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326190909/http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2001/dtv2001-0023.html |archive-date=March 26, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Duke is an active user of ''Stormfront'', where he posts articles from his website and polls forum members for opinions and questions. He has worked with Black on numerous occasions, including on [[Operation Red Dog]] (the attempted overthrowing of Dominica's government) in 1980.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manana.com/dominica.htm|title=Captmike works undercover with the US Government to stop the invasion of the Island Nation of Dominica|work=manana.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409060759/http://www.manana.com/dominica.htm|archive-date=April 9, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadiancontent.ca/articles/031401reddog.html|title=Operation Red Dog: Canadian neo-Nazis were central to the planned invasion of Dominica in 1981|work=canadiancontent.ca|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030519071411/http://www.canadiancontent.ca/articles/031401reddog.html|archive-date=May 19, 2003}}</ref> Duke continued to be involved with the website's radio station in 2019.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hochschild|first=Adam|url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2019/09/26/white-nationalist-family-values/|title=Family Values|work=The New York Review of Books|date=September 26, 2019|access-date=October 21, 2019|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

=== British National Party ===
In 2000, [[Nick Griffin]] (then leader of the [[British National Party]] in the United Kingdom) met with Duke at a seminar with the [[American Friends of the British National Party]].<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010312173817/http://www.americabnp.net/april.htm|url=http://www.americabnp.net/april.htm|archive-date=March 12, 2001|date=April 2000|title=April Meeting|website=American Friends of the BNP}}</ref> Griffin said: "instead of talking about racial purity, we talk about identity ... that means basically to use the saleable words, as I say, freedom, security, identity, democracy. Nobody can criticize them. Nobody can come at you and attack you on those ideas. They are saleable."<ref name=Pano/>

This was widely reported in the media of the United Kingdom, as was the meeting between Duke and Griffin, following the party's electoral successes in 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6481475.ece|work=[[The Times]]|title=White supremacist gunman James W. von Brunn had links to BNP|first=Kaya|last=Burgess|date=June 12, 2009|access-date=June 12, 2009|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111011171504/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6481475.ece|archive-date=October 11, 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Cahal Milmo|author2=Kevin Rawlinson|title=10 things you should know about the BNP when you watch Question Time tonight|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/10-things-you-should-know-about-the-bnp-when-you-watch-question-time-tonight-1806874.html|website=The Independent|access-date=January 19, 2015|date=October 22, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006090050/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/10-things-you-should-know-about-the-bnp-when-you-watch-question-time-tonight-1806874.html|archive-date=October 6, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Pano>{{cite news|title=PANORAMA: UNDER THE SKIN [Transcript]|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/audio_video/programmes/panorama/transcripts/transcript_25_11_01.txt|work=BBC News|access-date=January 19, 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026080017/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/audio_video/programmes/panorama/transcripts/transcript_25_11_01.txt|archive-date=October 26, 2015}}</ref>

=== Alt-right ===
Duke has written in praise of the [[alt-right]], calling one broadcast "fun and interesting"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://davidduke.com/incredible-conversation-dr-duke-andrew-anglin-alt-right-revolution-jewish-supremacism/|title=An Incredible Conversation Between Dr. Duke and Andrew Anglin on the Alt Right Revolution Against Jewish Supremacism!|date=June 9, 2016|access-date=January 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108212409/http://davidduke.com/incredible-conversation-dr-duke-andrew-anglin-alt-right-revolution-jewish-supremacism/|archive-date=November 8, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> and another a "great show".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://davidduke.com/patrick-slattery-and-mark-collett-discuss-brexit-the-british-immigration-situation-and-what-can-be-done|title=Dr. Duke interviews Andrew Anglin on Why the Alt-Right is Growing like Wildfire and is Winning!|newspaper=David Duke.com |date=October 3, 2016|access-date=January 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923032051/http://davidduke.com/patrick-slattery-and-mark-collett-discuss-brexit-the-british-immigration-situation-and-what-can-be-done/|archive-date=September 23, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> [[People for the American Way]] reported Duke championing the alt-right.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/david-duke-donald-trump-speaks-like-an-alt-right-leader/|title=David Duke: Donald Trump Speaks Like An Alt-Right Leader - Right Wing Watch|date=August 25, 2016|access-date=January 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709113340/http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/david-duke-donald-trump-speaks-like-an-alt-right-leader/|archive-date=July 9, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Duke described them as "our people" when describing their role in Donald Trump's election as president.<ref>{{cite web |last=Addley |first=Esther |date=November 9, 2016 |title=Former Ku Klux Klan leader and US alt-right hail election result |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/09/former-ku-klux-klan-leader-and-us-alt-right-hail-election-result |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118081030/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/09/former-ku-klux-klan-leader-and-us-alt-right-hail-election-result |archive-date=November 18, 2018 |access-date=January 29, 2019 |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref>

There are also claims that while he is not an active member of the alt-right, Duke is an inspiration for the movement. The ''[[International Business Times]]'' wrote that he had "'[[Nazi salute|sieg-heiling]] acolytes in the so-called 'alt-right'".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/decoding-alt-right-how-fringe-white-nationalism-invaded-mainstream-1594035|title=Is Hillary Clinton to blame for the alt-right? How white nationalists invaded the mainstream|first=Orlando|last=Crowcroft|date=December 1, 2016|access-date=January 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109190844/https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/decoding-alt-right-how-fringe-white-nationalism-invaded-mainstream-1594035|archive-date=November 9, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[The Forward]]'' has said that Duke "paved the way" for the alt-right movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forward.com/news/national/348361/how-david-duke-paved-the-way-for-the-alt-right-and-donald-trump/|title=How David Duke Paved the Way for the "Alt-Right" — and Donald Trump|date=August 30, 2016 |access-date=January 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180819182102/https://forward.com/news/national/348361/how-david-duke-paved-the-way-for-the-alt-right-and-donald-trump/|archive-date=August 19, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Legal difficulties and felony conviction ==
=== Tax fraud conviction and defrauding followers ===
On December 12, 2002, Duke pleaded guilty to the felony charge of filing a false tax return under {{usc|26|7206}} and [[mail fraud]] under {{usc|18|1341}}<ref name="guilty">{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-12-18-david-duke_x.htm|title=David Duke pleads to mail fraud, tax charges|work=USA Today|date=December 18, 2002|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917011516/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-12-18-david-duke_x.htm|archive-date=September 17, 2012|access-date=July 18, 2015}}</ref> According to ''The New York Times'': "Mr. Duke was accused of telling supporters that he was in financial straits, then misusing the money they sent him from 1993 to 1999. He was also accused of filing a false 1998 tax return... Mr. Duke used the money for personal investments and gambling trips... [T]he [supporter] contributions were as small as $5 and [according to the United States attorney, Jim Letten] there were so many that returning the money would be 'unwieldy.'"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/19/us/david-duke-pleads-guilty-to-tax-charge-and-fraud.html|title=David Duke Pleads Guilty To Tax Charge And Fraud|date=December 19, 2002|agency=Associated Press|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230052759/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/19/us/david-duke-pleads-guilty-to-tax-charge-and-fraud.html|archive-date=December 30, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Four months later, Duke was sentenced to 15 months in prison. He served the time in [[Big Spring, Texas]]. He was also fined $10,000 and ordered to cooperate with the [[Internal Revenue Service]] and pay money still owed for his 1998 taxes. After his release in May 2004, Duke said his decision to take the plea bargain was motivated by bias he perceived in the [[United States federal courts|United States federal court system]], not his guilt. He said he felt the charges were contrived to derail his political career and discredit him to his followers, and that he took the safe route by pleading guilty and receiving a mitigated sentence rather than pleading not guilty and potentially receiving the full sentence.

The mail fraud charges stemmed from what prosecutors described as a six-year scheme to dupe thousands of his followers by asking for donations. Using the postal service, Duke appealed to his supporters for funds by falsely saying he was about to lose his house and life savings. Prosecutors alleged that Duke raised hundreds of thousands of dollars this way. Prosecutors also stipulated that in contrast to what he wrote in the mailings, he sold his home at a hefty profit, had multiple investment accounts, and spent much of his money gambling at casinos.<ref name="Fox News"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-klan-leader-david-duke-indicted/|title=Ex-Klan Leader David Duke Indicted|work=CBS News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2002/LAW/12/18/duke.plea/index.html|title=Duke pleads guilty to fraud, false tax claims|work=CNN|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114175833/http://archives.cnn.com/2002/LAW/12/18/duke.plea/index.html|archive-date=November 14, 2007}}</ref>

=== 2009 arrest in the Czech Republic ===
[[File:David Duke (Belgium 2008).png|thumb|Duke in Belgium in 2008]]
In April 2009, Duke traveled to the Czech Republic on an invitation from a Czech [[Neo Nazism|neo-Nazi]] group, ''Národní Odpor'' ("National Resistance") to deliver three lectures in [[Prague]] and [[Brno]] promoting the Czech translation of his book ''My Awakening''.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://jungle-world.com/artikel/2009/22/35175.html|title=Edelweiß für den Grand Wizard|work=[[Jungle World]]|date=May 28, 2009|issue=22|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031434/http://jungle-world.com/artikel/2009/22/35175.html|archive-date=March 4, 2016}}</ref>

He was arrested on April 23 on suspicion of "denying or approving of the Nazi genocide and other Nazi crimes" and "promotion of movements seeking suppression of human rights", which are crimes in the Czech Republic punishable by up to three years' imprisonment. At the time of his arrest, Duke was reportedly guarded by members of the ''Národní Odpor''.<ref name=Czechpolicearrest>{{cite news|url=http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/zpravy/czech-police-arrest-former-ku-klux-klan-leader-duke/373167|title=Czech police arrest former Ku Klux Klan leader Duke|work=[[ČTK]]|date=April 24, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825041622/https://www.ceskenoviny.cz/zpravy/czech-police-arrest-former-ku-klux-klan-leader-duke/373167|archive-date=August 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/news/Louisiana+chief+arrested+Prague+Police/1531723/story.html|title=Ex-Louisiana KKK chief arrested in Prague: Police|agency=Agence France-Presse|work=Canada.com|date=April 24, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717055415/http://www2.canada.com/news/louisiana+chief+arrested+prague+police/1531723/story.html|archive-date=July 17, 2014}}</ref> The police released him early on April 25 on condition that he leave the country by midnight that day.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.kansascity.com/659/story/1160519.html|title=Former KKK leader ordered to leave Czech Republic|agency=Associated Press|work=The Kansas City Star|date=April 24, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/former-ku-klux-klan-leader-released-must-leave-czech-republic/373203|title=Former Ku Klux Klan leader released, must leave Czech Republic|work=[[ČTK]]|date=April 25, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106145213/http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/zpravy/former-ku-klux-klan-leader-released-must-leave-czech-republic/373203|archive-date=January 6, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://praguemonitor.com/2009/04/22/rising-extremism-and-roma-problem |title=Rising extremism and the Roma problem |first=Lenka |last=Scheuflerová |newspaper=Prague Daily Monitor |date=April 23, 2009 |access-date=January 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025181817/http://praguemonitor.com/2009/04/22/rising-extremism-and-roma-problem |archive-date=October 25, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Duke's first lecture had been scheduled at [[Charles University in Prague]], but it was canceled after university officials learned that neo-Nazis were planning to attend.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-04-21-prague-duke_N.htm|title=Prague university bans lecture by David Duke|agency=Associated Press|work=USA Today|date=April 21, 2009}}</ref> Some Czech politicians, including Interior Minister [[Ivan Langer]] and Human Rights and Minorities Minister [[Michael Kocáb]], had previously expressed opposition to allowing Duke into the Czech Republic.<ref name=Czechpolicearrest />

In September 2009, the office of the District Prosecutor for Prague dropped all charges, explaining that there was no evidence that Duke had committed any crime.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tyden.cz/rubriky/domaci/rasismus-v-cesku/statni-zastupkyne-zastavila-stihani-duka-kvuli-knize_140970.html |title=Státní zástupkyně zastavila stíhání Duka kvůli knize |work=TÝDEN.cz |publisher=Tyden.cz |date=September 29, 2009 |access-date=May 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229132734/http://www.tyden.cz/rubriky/domaci/rasismus-v-cesku/statni-zastupkyne-zastavila-stihani-duka-kvuli-knize_140970.html |archive-date=February 29, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== 2013 expulsion from Italy; Schengen Area ban ===
In 2013, an Italian court ruled in favor of expelling Duke from Italy.<ref name="Expulsion from Italy 2013">{{cite news|last=Jucca|first=Lisa|title=Italian court moves to expel former Ku Klux Klan leader|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-kukluxklan-idUKBRE9B40T120131205|access-date=December 19, 2013|work=Reuters|date=December 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220032014/http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/12/05/uk-italy-kukluxklan-idUKBRE9B40T120131205|archive-date=December 20, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Then 63, Duke was living in the mountain village [[Valle di Cadore]] in northern Italy. Although he had been issued a visa to live there by the Italian embassy in [[Malta]], Italian police later found that Switzerland had issued a residence ban against Duke that applied throughout Europe's [[Schengen Area]].<ref name="Expulsion from Italy 2013" />

== Other publications ==
To raise money in 1976, Duke (using the double pseudonym James Konrad and Dorothy Vanderbilt) wrote a [[self-help]] book for women, ''Finders-Keepers: Finding and Keeping the Man You Want''.<ref name="Powell448">{{cite book|last=Powell|first=Lawrence N.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mjfqCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA448|title=Troubled Memory: Anne Levy, the Holocaust, and David Duke's Louisiana|location=Chapel Hill, NC|publisher=The University of North Carolina Press|year=2000|page=448|isbn=9780807860489|access-date=January 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831141902/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=mjfqCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA448|archive-date=August 31, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The book contains sexual, diet, fashion, cosmetic and relationship advice, and was published by Arlington Place Books, an offshoot of the National Socialist White People's Party.<ref name="sims" /> [[Tulane University]] history professor Lawrence N. Powell, who read a rare copy of the book given to him by journalist Patsy Sims, wrote that it includes advice on vaginal exercises and [[Oral sex|oral]] and [[anal sex]] and advocates adultery. The Klan was shocked by Duke's writing.<ref name="Powell448"/><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Amend |first=Jeanne W. |title=The Picayune Catches Up With David Duke |date=January–February 1992 |magazine=Columbia Journalism Review |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/11886935.html |access-date=May 5, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=David Duke |publisher=Anti-Defamation League |url=http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/duke.asp |access-date=September 1, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060831051628/http://www.adl.org/learn/ext_us/duke.asp |archive-date=August 31, 2006}}</ref> According to journalist [[Tyler Bridges]], ''[[The Times-Picayune]]'' obtained a copy and traced it to Duke,<ref>{{cite news|title=Duke Paints a Dark Picture of Jews|last=Bridges|first=Tyler|date=August 26, 1990|work=[[The Times-Picayune]]|pages=A7}}</ref> who compiled the content from women's self-help magazines.<ref name="rise" /> Duke has admitted using the pseudonym Konrad.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Anderson|first1=Jack|last2=Van Atta|first2=Dale|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1990/09/17/skeletons-in-dukes-closet-loom-larger/a6c63904-3c6d-46c8-9129-0220325f5804/|title=Skeltons in Duke's Closet Loom Larger|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 17, 1990|access-date=August 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181009172231/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1990/09/17/skeletons-in-dukes-closet-loom-larger/a6c63904-3c6d-46c8-9129-0220325f5804/|archive-date=October 9, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the 1970s, under the pseudonym Mohammed X, Duke wrote ''African Atto'', a martial arts guide for black militants; he claimed it was a means of developing a mailing list to keep watch over such activists.<ref name="Applebome91" />

==Personal life==
While working in the White Youth Alliance, Duke met Chloê Eleanor Hardin, who was also active in the group. They remained companions throughout college and married in 1974. Hardin is the mother of Duke's two daughters. The Dukes divorced in 1984,<ref>The Rise of David Duke, Tyler Bridges, pg. 80, 1994</ref> and Chloe moved to [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], in order to be near her parents. There, she became involved with Duke's Klan friend [[Don Black (white nationalist)|Don Black]], whom she later married, and they began a small [[bulletin board system]] (BBS) called [[Stormfront (website)|Stormfront]], which has become a prominent online forum for [[white nationalism]], [[Neo-Nazism]], [[hate speech]], [[racism]], and [[antisemitism]] in the early 21st century.<ref>{{cite web|last= Kim|first=T. K.|title=Electronic Storm|year=2005|website=Intelligence Report|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|url=http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?aid=551|access-date = August 31, 2006}}</ref><ref name="dailykos" /><ref name="FOX" /><ref name="WIPO" />

Duke rented an apartment in [[Moscow]] beginning around 1999.<ref name="LA Times">{{cite news|last1=Daniszewski|first1=John|title=Ex-Klansman David Duke Sets Sights on Russian Anti-Semites|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jan-06-mn-9088-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 6, 2001}}</ref> He lived in Russia for five years. He now resides in [[Mandeville, Louisiana]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pagones |first1=Sara |title=St. Tammany GOP leaders denounce David Duke candidacy |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/communities/st_tammany/article_ce04c12e-582a-11e6-b68d-63496b60e53c.html |website=The New Orleans Advocate |date=August 2016 |publisher=The Advocate |access-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref>

== In the media ==
[[Topher Grace]] portrays Duke in [[Spike Lee]]'s 2018 film ''[[BlacKkKlansman]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last= Utichi|first=Joe|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=May 16, 2018|title=The Renaissance Of Topher Grace: Two Movies In Cannes & A Feted Turn As David Duke In 'BlacKkKlansman' – Cannes Studio|url=https://deadline.com/2018/05/topher-grace-interview-blackkklansman-under-the-silver-lake-cannes-1202391763/|access-date = July 8, 2018}}</ref> Duke was banned from [[Facebook]] in 2018, over a year after his participation in the [[Unite the Right rally]].<ref name="Beckett-2020">{{Cite web |last=Beckett |first=Lois |date=July 31, 2020 |title=Twitter bans white supremacist David Duke after 11 years |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jul/31/david-duke-twitter-ban-white-supremacist |access-date=April 19, 2022 |website=[[The Guardian]] |location=San Francisco |language=en}}</ref> Duke was banned from [[YouTube]] in 2020 for repeatedly violating its policies against hate speech, along with [[Richard B. Spencer|Richard Spencer]] and [[Stefan Molyneux]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Adam|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/youtube-david-duke-richard-spencer-stefan-molyneux-removed-a9593051.html|title=YouTube Removes Three Prominent White Supremacist Channels|work=The Independent|location=London|date=June 30, 2020|access-date=June 30, 2020}}</ref> Duke's Twitter account was permanently suspended in 2020 for violating the company's rules on hateful conduct.<ref name="Beckett-2020" /><ref>{{cite news|last=Musil|first=Steven|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/twitter-permanently-bans-white-supremacist-david-duke/|title=Twitter permanently bans white supremacist David Duke|work=CNET|date=July 30, 2020|access-date=July 31, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=July 31, 2020|title=Twitter bans ex-KKK leader David Duke|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53608106|access-date=August 1, 2020}}</ref>

== Self-published books ==
* Duke, David. ''Jewish Supremacism'' (Free Speech Press, 2003; 350 pages) {{ISBN|1-892796-05-8}}
* Duke, David. ''[[My Awakening: A Path to Racial Understanding|My Awakening]]'' (Free Speech Books, 1998; 736 pages) {{ISBN|1-892796-00-7}}

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Biography}}
* [[Hate speech]]
* [[Racism in the United States]]
* {{Portal-inline|United States}}

== References ==
'''Notes'''
<references>
<ref name="FOX">[[Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)|Bill O'Reilly]], "[https://www.foxnews.com/story/circling-the-wagons-in-georgia Circling the Wagons in Georgia]" [https://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,86338,00.html], ''[[Fox News]]'', May 8, 2003.</ref>
</references>

'''Bibliography'''
* Bridges, Tyler (1995) ''The Rise of David Duke''. Mississippi University Press. {{ISBN|0-87805-678-5}}
* Rose, Douglas D. (1992) ''The Emergence of David Duke and the Politics of Race''. University of North Carolina Press.
* McQuaid, John (April 13, 2003) "Ex-Klan Leader Is Popular in Europe, Mideast, Even as He Heads to Jail Here", ''[[New Orleans Times-Picayune]]''
* [[Alfred Vierling|Vierling, Alfred]]: [http://vimeo.com/20150126 Interview], [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6053470509266077802 Interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719215738/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6053470509266077802 |date=July 19, 2011 }}
* Zatarain, Michael (1990) ''David Duke: Evolution of a Klansman''. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing, 1990. {{ISBN|0-88289-817-5}}

'''Further reading'''
* {{Cite book| publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]| isbn = 978-0-521-81673-1| author1 = [[Carol M. Swain|Swain, Carol M.]]| author2 = Nieli, Russel| title = Contemporary Voices of White Nationalism in America| date = 2003| url = https://archive.org/details/contemporaryvoic00swai_0|ref=none}}

== External links ==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|David Duke}}
* {{Official website|https://davidduke.com/}}

'''Filmography'''
* {{IMDb name|0241175}}
* {{C-SPAN|1520}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Bob Richards]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Populist Party (United States, 1984)|Populist]] nominee for [[President of the United States]]|years=[[1988 United States presidential election|1988]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Bo Gritz]]}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[United States Senator|U.S. Senator]] from [[Louisiana]]<br />([[Classes of United States Senators|Class 2]])|years=[[United States Senate election in Louisiana, 1990|1990]]}}
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