Ku Klux Klan leader celebrates 'growing' support ahead of midterms in pro-Trump interview

Thomas Robb, a 79-year-old Arkansan and national director of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), celebrated his organization’s “growing” support ahead of the midterms in a new interview published Sunday with Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle.

“Support for us is growing, there’s no question about that!” Robb, who ultimately succeeded David Duke as leader of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in 1989, told Lavelle.

Robb is also the leader of the Christian Revival Center in Boone County in northern Arkansas, where the KKK leader said Black people weren’t welcome. The church’s website openly urges attendees to “Honor Your Birthright,” specifically naming “Anglo-Saxon, Germanic, Celtic, Scandinavian, and related peoples of Europe.” The church’s website also includes a warning against those who have “cursed Israel.”

“We wanted to see how much, if any, influence this group or its message has ahead of the midterms,” Lavelle said in a narration over his interview with Robb. “The Klan is trying to publicly rebrand around family and faith, though [Robb] tells us the robes are still used at times, and race is still at the top, determining who, in its leaders’ eyes, belong in America.”

In the interview, Lavelle asked Robb his thoughts on non-white political figures such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed.

“Well, first of all, they’re not Americans,” Robb said.

Lavelle pushed back, noting that El-Sayed was born in Michigan. While not born in the United States, Mamdani is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

“I don’t care where he’s born, he’s not American,” Robb said, going on to argue that only “white” people could be considered Americans.

Robb also spoke out against criticism of President Donald Trump over rising costs amid his deeply unpopular war against Iran.

“They’re not looking at the things that Trump did to really restore America. Build the wall… I mean, theoretically, I could say I don’t care if gas prices are $20 a gallon!”