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Breitbart just can’t quit this ‘pro-white’ congressional candidate

The site claimed it "cut all ties" with Paul Nehlen. Then it booked him on a radio show.

A screengrab from a video candidate Paul Nehlen produced for Gab, a social network that caters to white nationalists
A screengrab from a video candidate Paul Nehlen produced for Gab, a social network that caters to white nationalists

Breitbart has come under criticism for its repeated — and favorable — coverage of Paul Nehlen, a congressional candidate who has openly embraced white nationalism for more than a year. In response, the site’s leadership claimed that it “cut all ties” to Nehlen and hasn’t given him any coverage in “months.”

This turns out to be false. ThinkProgress learned that Nehlen was a guest of a Breitbart radio show, “Whatever It Takes with Curt Schilling,” on December 18 — even though Breitbart quietly removed the segment from its SoundCloud page.

On December 18, Breitbart’s Schilling repeatedly endorsed Nehlen. “I’m a fan…I want you to tell people how they can help you out,” Schilling said during the interview.

Since that time Nehlen has gone even further, tweeting a variety of white nationalist and anti-Semitic messages. On the social network Gab, Nehlen retweeted a defense of his conduct from Christopher Cantwell, an anti-Semitic white supremacist who helped organize the Charlottesville white power rally.

On Friday, Brietbart’s Schilling invited Nehlen back on his radio show next Wednesday.

Nehlen happily agreed.

The people criticizing Nehlen, Schilling suggests, are just projecting.

Schilling said that much of the criticism of Nehlen could be “bullshit.”

In response to criticisms of his decision to invite Nehlen back on the program, Schilling defended Identity Europa, a white supremicist group.

Schilling later suggested he was unfamiliar with Identity Europa, but would study up on it and other issues before speaking with Nehlen next Wednesday.

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In addition to Schilling’s show, Nehlen also appeared this month on “Fash The Nation,” a white supremacist podcast. Nehlen’s first appearance on “Fash The Nation” was in December 2016.


UPDATE (12/30): After initially calling this reporter an “idiot” for critically reporting his decision to book Nehlen, Schilling announced he was canceling the interview.