This past Tuesday, David Duke, that proverbial fount of informed discourse, made a series of bizarre and baseless remarks about Jews on his radio program.

This should come as no surprise; Duke has made a career out of spouting disgusting theories and beliefs — statements and positions that 99.99% of American citizens have the good sense to ignore. But Duke has sensed the media’s thirst for controversial headlines tied to Donald Trump and so he has developed a habit of invoking Mr. Trump’s name to draw eyes and ears to his message. This most recent bout of nonsense from Duke achieved his aim of attracting attention when outlets like CBS News and Politico.com made the decision to elevate Duke’s remarks and report them as news because, in CBS’ view, Duke claimed that Jews are “zeroing in now on Donald Trump” in an organized effort to derail the New York businessman’s presidential campaign. The truth is that nothing Duke says is worthy of anyone’s attention. When the media reports Duke’s racist and anti-Semitic ramblings, the side effect is that they shine a spotlight on what Duke is saying and help him achieve his goals. Those of us who wish to live in a society that is free of prejudice and hatred have a duty to stand up and represent those ideals; but Duke is not looking to have an open or honest dialogue about race or religion in America, he is looking to spread white supremacy and anti-Semitism. We would all be better served to leave Duke alone in the sad, dark corner of the world that he inhabits.

As an advisor to Mr. Trump, who has worked for him for nearly two decades, I want to make several things clear. I do not wish to spend any more time thinking about Duke than is absolutely necessary to set the record straight. My hope is that the media and the public will note the facts below and join me in clicking the “mute” button once and for all on future diatribes from Duke.

1. Mr. Trump has disavowed Duke and anti-Semitism and has turned his attention to the issues that really matter to the American people. As Mr. Trump has stated many times, but bears repeating here, hate has absolutely no place in our politics or in our society.

2. What millions of American Jews know very well — yet seems to elude Duke — is that Mr. Trump is a lifelong friend of the Jewish people and supporter of the State of Israel. If Duke and his modest listenership wish to rally behind a presidential candidate inimical to Jewish people, they’ll need to look elsewhere!

3. If Duke were in any way associated with Mr. Trump, then Duke’s regular stream of hateful invective might be newsworthy. But Mr. Trump has never been associated with Duke in any way. Nor does Mr. Trump share in Duke’s reprehensible views. Mr. Trump is running for president in the firm belief that all Americans — of every race, color and creed — are bound together in the common purpose of Making America Great Again. Let’s not give Duke a platform to amplify his twisted, bigoted beliefs by reinforcing the thoroughly discredited myth that the two men bear anything whatsoever in common. They most assuredly do not!

Jason Greenblatt is an Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of The Trump Organization and a Co-Founder of www.inspireconversation.com. Follow Jason on Twitter @JasonDovEsq

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