GOP rallies echo 1920s Klan rhetoric

Republican campaign events across the country have adopted messaging strategies that mirror the political platform of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s. A researcher for the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs noted that the group formed during that era to defend Anglo-Protestant America. They developed a unified political and social movement supported by a specific gospel.

The earliest versions of the organization were described as a fraternal order for White, male, Anglo-Saxon Protestants. This group opposed Reconstruction and the rights of newly freed African Americans. The subsequent rise of the Klan presaged the Red Scare of 1919 to 1920. It also preceded the Immigration Act of 1921. That legislation established the first immigration quotas based on national origin in the United States.

Hiram Wesley Evans, the Imperial Wizard at the time, described the second coming of the KKK in 1926. He wrote that Klansmen wrapped themselves in the flag and the cross. They proclaimed themselves the moral guardians of America. Evans argued that a betrayal of Americanism was treason to sacred trusts. He believed Americanism could only be achieved if the pioneer stock was kept pure.

In 2026, Republican candidates in competitive races have joined President Donald Trump in criticizing specific nations. They have targeted countries like Somalia, claiming an Islamic takeover is underfoot. Candidates such as Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Representative Ilhan Omar have been labeled communists and jihadists. Critics argue these officials fit a theory of replacement that adheres to white supremacist ideologies.

Vice President JD Vance previously spread claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio. He alleged that migrants were abducting and eating pets. Trump repeated these claims on a nationally televised debate stage. Trump has also described Mexican immigrants as rapists who bring drugs and crime. He claimed they poison the blood of America and blamed genetics for recent mass shootings.

Vance has told white audiences that they do not have to apologize for being White. At a recent rally in Michigan, he described the Middle East as a region with unpronounceable country names. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently questioned the presence of Indian people in the United States. He stated that many of them are unethical and do not smell the freshest.

The historical context of the parties has shifted over the last century. The KKK identified politically as Democrats in its early iterations. However, the current Republican party is staging coast-to-coast rallies that utilize similar fear-based messaging. The campaign focuses on white victimization and the preservation of a perceived heritage. These themes are central to the current midterm election push.