Congressman speaks to controversial organization
David Duke on reports that Rep. Steve Scalise addressed a white-supremacist group in 2002
This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," January 5, 2015. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
Watch "The O'Reilly Factor" weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET!
O'REILLY: "Factor Follow up Segment" tonight, Congressman Steve Scalise from Louisiana is the third highest ranking Republican in the House. Now the Congressman is involved in a big controversy.
2002 he allegedly spoke to the European American Unity and Rights Organization in a suburb of New Orleans. That group is run by David Duke who is considered by some to be a white supremacist. We asked Congressman Scalise to appear with us, he has declined. Today at the White House the situation came up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EARNEST: It is ultimately their decision to make. But there is no arguing that who Republicans decide to elevate into a leadership position says a lot about what the conference's priorities and values are. And I mean ultimately Mr. Scalise described himself as David Duke without the baggage. So it will be up to Republicans to decide what that says about their conference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'REILLY: Joining us now from New Orleans is David Duke, former state rep there and former Ku Klux Klan member.
First of all, I understand you were not at the conference where Congressman Scalise spoke. Is that correct?
DAVID DUKE, FORMER KU KLUX KLAN MEMBER: That's correct. In fact, actually at the time I was in Moscow. In fact I was in the Russian archives during that period doing research for this book, "The Secret Behind Communism" which is about the origins of communism and, by the way, my speech at the conference, which was done by a telephone hookup was actually about how the Iraq war would be a catastrophic war for America and only help the enemies of America and put Americans in harm's way for a lie. Because I said there were no weapons of mass destruction. That's what it's about.
I was never a white supremacist. I'm not a white supremacist at all. In fact the European American Unity and Rights Group was in fact a chartered civil rights organization and I in fact in Louisiana legislature sponsored a bill that forbid racial discrimination and these programs called Affirmative Action which are racial discriminations.
O'REILLY: All right. Let's get back to Congressman Scalise because he's in the eye of the tiger right now.
DUKE: Right. Sure.
O'REILLY: You were not there. You were in Moscow doing something else. Were you aware that he was going speak to your group?
DUKE: I heard about that. But I tell you frankly, and I know your next question is was he there. I can't be sure he was there.
O'REILLY: All right. So you don't know whether he actually showed up because in New Orleans' "Picayune" newspaper saying yes, he spoke but it wasn't to your group. It was to another group at the same hotel and blah- blah-blah-blah-blah.
DUKE: I know he was scheduled to speak. I don't know if he spoke. But here is the deal. I was out of the Klan at this time, longer than Robert Byrd was out of the Klan when he went to the United States Congress. Robert Byrd was a former Klansman and by the way in fact he was in it for years after I was. I was in my 20s.
And I've always condemned violence. And here is President -- and you can zoom on it if you want. Here is President Obama with Robert Byrd when he died. He was there and Clinton was there all praising Robert Byrd as a brave man.
O'REILLY: But he repudiated his past and I mean you are still the head of the European -- whatever. Come on.
DUKE: No. When you defend the rights of all Americans --
O'REILLY: Wait. Just the label of the group is sending a message -- the European Union --
DUKE: It's the same message.
O'REILLY: Look. I have known you for a long time. We don't have enough time for you to answer. You give your philosophy.
DUKE: Of course you don't.
O'REILLY: No, no, no. But don't sit there and tell me you are not a white -- your organization is not looking out for the white Europeans.
DUKE: I tell you what. I am looking out for the rights of all Americans. I also believe that European-Americans shouldn't be discriminated against in jobs or scholarships or any other way.
O'REILLY: All right. And that is a position that's being debated all over the place.
DUKE: There is nothing wrong with that. Scalise was there. He wasn't at a Klan meeting. And look at the hypocrisy. Here is the perfect example. Here's Nelson Mandela -- right. This is a picture of Nelson Mandela at a communist party meeting. He was a member of the Central Committee.
O'REILLY: I reported that. I reported that.
DUKE: Exactly. Let me ask you the question. Does any of the mass media in this country --
O'REILLY: What do you care? You don't care about the mass media. You know they despise you.
DUKE: No, I sure don't care about them because the enemies of all people in America -- European-Americans, African-Americans. Look, he was a communist. They never headlined, former communist Nelson Mandela.
O'REILLY: That's because they're sympathetic in the mainstream media for the left.
DUKE: Exactly. And they are unsympathetic to European Americans.
O'REILLY: Mr. Duke, don't sit here and tell me that you are not trying to promote the cause of white people, because you are.
DUKE: I am absolutely -- I love my people and my heritage and I want to preserve my heritage like every people does.
O'REILLY: Preserve your heritage -- what does that mean?
DUKE: How about European heritage?
O'REILLY: What does that mean?
DUKE: I'll tell you what. You don't know what European heritage is? You don't know what Mozart is and Bach and Beethoven. You don't know --
O'REILLY: They are people. They come from different countries.
DUKE: Let me tell you --
O'REILLY: The problem with this garbage on both sides --
DUKE: That is not garbage.
O'REILLY: We are all in it together and skin color shouldn't matter.
DUKE: That's right. And you know what -- you know what, the people that run the media they're inflaming the African-Americans against European-Americans and they're inflaming a sector of European-Americans and African-Americans but the truth is the real people who are repressing and hurting all of us are the big bankers which are robbing us blind like the Goldman-Sachs of the world.
O'REILLY: All right.
DUKE: They are putting us in these wars for Israel. That is hurting all of America.
O'REILLY: Mr. Duke, I have to go. We appreciate you coming in.
DUKE: I'm sure you do.
O'REILLY: The one thing that you said I want to get everybody on board with this is that Congressman Scalise was scheduled --
DUKE: Mr. Scalise did not go to a white supremacist meeting if he went at all. He went to a meeting.
O'REILLY: All right. I'm not going to say white supremacist but he was scheduled to speak to your group. And that is all we wanted -- the truth.
DUKE: All right.
Content and Programming Copyright 2015 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2015 CQ-Roll Call, Inc. All materials herein are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of CQ-Roll Call. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.
Fox News First
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox.
By entering your email and clicking the Subscribe button, you agree to the Fox News Privacy Policy and Terms of Use, and agree to receive content and promotional communications from Fox News. You understand that you can opt-out at any time.