Can the KKK find a new foothold in the US?

Deleted: Experts have warned over the past decade of a resurgence in white supremacy in the United States, fuelled in part by the mainstream influence of political figures like President Donald Trump.

Just this year, the Public Religion Research Institute released the results of a 2025 survey that asked more than 20,000 US adults to evaluate the statement, “Immigrants are invading our country and replacing our cultural and ethnic background.”

That belief is the cornerstone of the great replacement theory, a conspiracy that falsely claims that immigrants, Jews and nonwhite groups seek to supplant white people in Western countries.

The research institute found that 32 percent of respondents – nearly one in three – nevertheless agreed with the idea.

Critics have accused right-wing leaders like Trump of normalising such views, through rhetoric that paints immigration as an “invasion” and “an assault on Western countries”.

Trump has also been accused of cosying up to white nationalists, even dining in 2022 with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, a key figure in the movement. When white nationalists engaged in a deadly clash with protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, Trump said there were “fine people on both sides”.

Al Jazeera correspondent Phil Lavelle travelled to Boone County, Arkansas, to see whether one of the most infamous white supremacist organisations in US history had seen a bump in its influence midway through Trump’s second term.

He spoke to Thomas Robb, the head of what was formerly known as the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group founded in the 1970s by David Duke.

What Lavelle found was a group seemingly eager to rebrand. The group had shortened its title to The Knights Party, and members told Lavelle they were trying to re-centre their message around family and faith.

But when Lavelle asked if a Black person would be welcome at the group’s church, Robb’s answer was simple.

“No,” Robb responded. “Because this is a white nationalist church.”

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) has a long history of racism and violence in the US. The movement began at the end of the civil war in 1865, as a response to government efforts to expand civil rights to Black people and other minority groups.

Through lynchings and other targeted acts of violence, the KKK attempted to block non-white participation in government and maintain racial divides.

Robb, a Christian pastor, took over as the head of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan – a faction of the KKK – in 1989. He has since attempted to broaden the group’s appeal.

He changed his title from “grand wizard” to “national director”, allowed new members to participate confidentially by mail, and distanced himself from KKK violence in public outreach campaigns.

Still, he has adhered to the racist philosophy his organisation is known for.

“What do you make of politicians like Zohran Mamdani or Abdul El-Sayed?” Lavelle asked Robb in his interview, referencing two high-profile US politicians who identify as Muslim.

“Well, first off, they’re not Americans,” Robb said. When Lavelle pointed out that El-Sayed was born in Michigan, Robb brushed off the contradiction. “I don’t care where he’s born. He’s not American.”

He proceeded to draw a distinction between the children of white and non-white immigrants. Only the children of white foreigners can be American, Robb said, “because they’re white”.

The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is one of dozens of white supremacy organisations operating in the US.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, an advocacy group, estimates that there are at least 152 such groups active in the US today, part of what it calls a rising trend over the last decade.

Just this year, another white supremacist organisation, the Patriot Front, marched through Washington, DC, during the Independence Day holiday.

Critics say Trump, at times, has echoed their rhetoric. Trump told The New York Times earlier this year that “white people were very badly treated” in fields like academics.

He also instructed his second administration to dismantle diversity initiatives, and under his leadership, the government has launched probes into whether universities and companies like Nike discriminate against white people.

In addition, Trump has given priority to white South Africans in refugee admissions, falsely claiming they are the subject of a “genocide”.

Robb claimed the current rise in white nationalist sentiment began well before Trump, in 2008, during the election of Barack Obama, the country’s first Black president.

“People are beginning to stir and being angered by what they see happening to the country,” said Robb. “So we’re kind of a voice for that.”

Still, Robb acknowledged public wariness of joining a white supremacist group like his. “As for people actually to become members, that’s kind of a line they [are] a little hesitant to cross sometimes,” he said.

He also declined when asked to provide membership numbers or provide evidence for his assertion that support for his movement “is growing”.

“Maybe we’re wrong. Maybe everybody hates us. I don’t know,” Robb said.