Nick Cannon Calls the Democratic Party the 'Party of the KKK'

Nick Cannon expressed some distaste for the Democratic Party ... calling them the "party of the KKK" -- that said, don't expect the man to vote Republican either.

The actor and rapper laid out his raw thoughts about America's major political parties in a new episode of his 'Big Drive' show which came out Friday, while chatting with Amber Rose about her recent move to the Republican party.

In the clip, Cannon notes the Democratic Party's historic links to the Klan while pointing out the Republican Party, under Abraham Lincoln, actually freed the slaves.

Cannon's correct ... Democrats in the Reconstruction-era South had strong ties to the KKK and opposed racial equality through the 1950s.

Worth noting -- despite an oft-repeated myth -- Democrats did not found the KKK ... and realigned politically in the 1960s when Southern Dems, known as "Dixiecrats," left the party.

That said, Nick invokes a quote from sociologist and Pan-African activist W.E.B. Du Bois ... who famously said in 1956 he didn't believe in 2 political parties -- instead, they were all just one evil organization under two different names.

Basically, Cannon's a free-thinker ... and, he's not falling into the trap of branding himself Democrat or Republican.

However, N.C. says he likes President Donald Trump ... which seems a slight change from the past when he referred to 47 as a "bully" after Trump said Heidi Klum wasn't a "10."