‘Party of the KKK’: Nick Cannon uses history to try and support his bizarre political opinions

Nick Cannon recently shared some pretty strong political opinions on his show, Big Drive, saying he “f–ks with” Donald Trump and calling the Democrats “the party of the KKK.” These comments have certainly stirred up a conversation, especially given the historical context Cannon tried to use to back up his claims.

Cannon started by saying, “People don’t know that the Democrats are the party of the KKK [Ku Klux Klan].” He then followed up by saying, “People don’t know that the Republicans are the party that freed the slaves.” It’s a take that his guest, Amber Rose, agreed with. Rose describes herself as a formerly “liberal” Democrat who has since switched to being a Republican. She even endorsed Trump during the 2024 presidential election.

According to US Weekly Magazine, Rose explained her shift, telling Cannon, “Democrats don’t care about Black people. They don’t care about people of color, and the Republicans do. That’s the misconception.” Cannon agreed that they share some “conservative views,” even if Rose is “a little more outspoken” about them. 

I feel like they might be tuned to the wrong news channel

He clarified his own stance, saying he doesn’t “subscribe to either party.” Instead, he aligns with W.E.B. Du Bois, quoting the civil rights pioneer, “There’s no such thing as two parties. It’s just one evil party with two different names.” Du Bois fought for equal rights for Black people in the late 1800s and 1900s, passing away right before the Civil Rights Act was signed into law. That monumental act made racial segregation illegal.

Historically, Cannon is right that President Abraham Lincoln’s Republican Party pushed to abolish slavery during the Civil War. However, the political landscape shifted dramatically over the decades. By the 1960s, several notable segregationist “Dixiecrats,” like Senator Strom Thurmond, moved their allegiances from the Democratic Party to the GOP. 

Rose defended her vote for Trump, stating, “We had two options and he was by far the better option.” She added, “As of now, I agree with a lot of the things he’s doing.” Cannon chimed in, praising the president for “cleaning house” and “doing what he said he was going to do.” He even went on to say, “I f–k with Trump,” and specifically praised the president for supposedly changing the name of the “Gulf of Mexico” to the “Gulf of America.”

These comments come on the heels of a recent controversy involving Trump. On one of his many Truth Social posting sprees, he shared a video of former president Barack and first lady Michelle Obama as apes during Black History Month. The move sparked widespread accusations of racism, but Trump refused to apologize, telling reporters on Air Force One that he “didn’t make a mistake.” 

Barack Obama weighed in on the incident, telling Brian Tyler Cohen that it was a prime example of “the clown show that’s happening in social media and on television.”