Earlier this week, Reuters reported on David Duke’s participation in the Holocaust revisionism conference in Tehran. Particularly curious about Reuter’s report was it’s description of Duke as: “U.S. academic David Duke, a former Louisiana Republican Representative.” Yet, as Jonah Goldberg observed, “it’s not like he was in the U.S. Congress and it ain’t like he has tenure somewhere.” So what gives?
I perused Duke’s website (not something I recommend) and found no mention of any “academic” pursuits, let alone employment in an academic field, other than a vague claim that he “teaches in Eastern Europe.” (Teaches what? Holocaust revisionism?) Duke does have a Ph.D in History from the Ukrainian
Interregional Academy of Personnel Management (MAUP), but I thought it took more than an advanced degree to make one an “academic.”