The David Duke Standard; The Hasan Piker Exception

Source: Town Hall
by Larry Elder

“Remember the media firestorm in 2016 when Donald Trump supposedly failed to denounce former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke? Trump, appearing on CNN, claimed he did not know enough about Duke to disavow him. Trump later blamed a faulty earpiece and repudiated Duke and the KKK. But the episode became Exhibit A for those who accused Trump of using racial ‘dog whistles’. Then-Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan declared, ‘If a person wants to be the nominee of the Republican Party, there can be no evasion and no games. They must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry’. … Now consider the Democrat Party’s treatment of Hasan Piker, the socialist streamer who said, ‘America deserved 9/11.'” (09/10/26)

https://townhall.com/columnists/larryelder/2026/09/10/the-david-duke-standard-the-hasan-piker-exception-n2682711