It recently came to light that William Johnson, chairman of the American Freedom Party and a “white pride” leader in Southern California was going to be one of Donald Trump’s delegates. Johnson then said he’d step down as a delegate after the Trump campaign blamed the selection on a “database error.” (Mother Jones has the whole story, here).
Johnson was an early and adamant supporter of Trump because of his anti-immigration stance. He also started a SuperPac in support of the candidate.
KCRW’s Saul Gonzalez met with Johnson back in March about his support for Trump. He also talked to experts who study hate groups in the US.
Experts who study hate groups in the US say the American Freedom Party’s support for Trump is just one example of a wide and enthusiastic embrace of the controversial candidate by white nationalists.
“There are people on the far racist right who describe Donald Trump as our ‘glorious leader.’ They actually seem to think he is Hitler without the mustache and slightly dressed up in American clothing,” says Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which monitors hate and white nationalist groups in the US, including the American Freedom Party.
Here’s Saul’s story: