Donald Trump has been condemned by Democrats, anti-racist groups and also some Republicans after reports emerged that he dined at his Florida home with Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist antisemite and racist.
The former US president had invited Kanye West, the rapper now known as Ye who has made a string of antisemitic statements over the last few weeks, to dinner at Mar-a-Lago, and he claimed that West brought friends with him, including Fuentes.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said that West "unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about", and said that he was there to discuss West's business interests and presidential run.
Fuentes, 24, has grown a large following online of the extreme-right. He is a proud Holocaust denier and racist, and has in recent weeks called for the military to be sent into Black neighbourhoods, and also demanded that Jews leave the country. His YouTube channel was permanently suspended in early 2020 for violating the platform’s hate speech policy.
Fuentes has formed relationships with Trump-supporting politicians Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona.
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Nick Fuentes with US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green (Photo via Twitter)
Speaking to the New York Times, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said: “Nick Fuentes is among the most prominent and unapologetic antisemites in the country. He’s a vicious bigot and known Holocaust denier who has been condemned by leading figures from both political parties here, including the R.J.C.”
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates also condemned the meeting, saying in a statement: “Bigotry, hate, and antisemitism have absolutely no place in America — including at Mar-a-Lago. Holocaust denial is repugnant and dangerous, and it must be forcefully condemned."
When asked about the meeting this weekend, President Joe Biden said: “You don’t wanna hear what I think."
Condemnation of the meeting was not limited to Democrats and anti-racism groups. David M. Friedman, Trump’s longtime bankruptcy lawyer and then his appointee as ambassador to Israel, wrote on Twitter: “To my friend Donald Trump, you are better than this. I urge you to throw those bums out, disavow them and relegate them to the dustbin of history where they belong."
He added: "I condemned Barak Obama associating with Louis Farrakhan and Jeremiah Wright. This is no different. Antisemites deserve no quarter among American leaders, right or left."
And Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor who has previously advised trump said: “This is just another example of an awful lack of judgment from Donald Trump, which, combined with his past poor judgments, make him an untenable general election candidate for the Republican Party in 2024."
Kanye West and Donald Trump
Donald Trump with Kanye ‘Ye’ West
Writing on Truth Social this weekend, Donald Trump said: "Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, was asking me for advice concerning some of his difficulties, in particular having to do with his business. We also discussed, to a lesser extent, politics, where I told him he should definitely not run for President, 'any voters you may have should vote for TRUMP'.
"Anyway, we got along great, he expressed no anti-Semitism, & I appreciated all of the nice things he said about me on 'Tucker Carlson'. Why wouldn't I agree to meet? Also, I don't know Nick Fuentes."
In a follow up post, he added: "He shows up with 3 people, two of which I didn’t know, the other a political person who I haven’t seen in years. I told him don’t run for office, a total waste of time, can’t win."
However, one person present at the dinner who spoke to the Washington Post, said that Trump was impressed by Fuentes.
Karen Giorno, a former Trump aide and senior adviser who was present at the dinner, said: “He was impressed with Nick and his knowledge of Trump World. Nick knew people and figures and speeches and rallies and what surrounded the Trump culture, particularly when it came to the base."
