Story highlights Mike Pence was on Capitol Hill Tuesday for a meeting with GOP leaders and speaking to the press

Pence is a former congressman who's working to build bridges between Donald Trump and the Hill

(CNN) Mike Pence told reporters Tuesday that he and Donald Trump denounce David Duke, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan.

"I have no idea why this man keeps coming up," the Indiana governor told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference. "Donald Trump and I have denounced David Duke repeatedly. We have said that we do not want his support and we don't want the support of people who think like him."

Speaking to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Monday, Pence declined to call Duke "deplorable," though he disavowed his support. Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine hit Pence over the exchange at a campaign event in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Tuesday, saying, "If you can't call it out and you stand back and you're silent about it, you're enabling it to grow, you're enabling it to become more powerful."

Pence spoke to reporters following a meeting with Republican leaders on Capitol Hill aimed to assuage concern about the party's nominee. Multiple House Republicans told CNN that Pence told personal stories about Trump and his dealings with him one-on-one, and that his running mate helped humanize the real estate mogul for a group that doesn't know the GOP nominee well.

Before becoming Indiana's governor, Pence served in the House for more than 10 years.

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