White House blasts Donald Trump for white supremacist meeting

The White House has blasted the former US president for meeting with an outspoken anti-Semite and Kanye West at his Florida estate.

Former US President Donald Trump speaks from his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida. Picture: Alon Skuy/AFP

The White House has condemned former president Donald Trump for a meeting at his Florida estate with a renowned white supremacist and with rapper Kanye West, who is embroiled in a storm over anti-Semitic remarks.

Trump acknowledged having dinner with West, who now is known as Ye, on Tuesday night at Mar-a-Lago, and said he brought along friends, one of whom was Nick Fuentes, an outspoken anti-Semite and racist.

“I didn’t know Nick Fuentes,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account late on Friday local time.

White House deputy press secretary Andrews Bates condemned Trump’s meeting with Fuentes.

“Bigotry, hate, and anti-Semitism have absolutely no place in America – including at Mar-a-Lago. Holocaust denial is repugnant and dangerous, and it must be forcefully condemned,” Mr Bates told CNN.

President Joe Biden, who is spending the holiday weekend in Nantucket, ducked a question about Trump’s dinner.

“You don’t wanna hear what I think,” he said.

Fuentes is a Holocaust denier whose YouTube channel was permanently suspended in early 2020 for violating the platform’s hate speech policy.

Kanye was among the guests. Picture: Timothy A. Clary/AFP

Trump announced his plans in mid-November to seek re-election in 2024, and his embrace of a white nationalist unsettled some of his one-time administration officials.

David Friedman, who was Trump’s former ambassador to Israel, blasted the dinner at Mar-a-Lago.

“Even a social visit from an antisemite like Kanye West and human scum like Nick Fuentes is unacceptable,” Mr Friedman said in one of several tweets.

To my friend Donald Trump, you are better than this. Even a social visit from an antisemite like Kanye West and human scum like Nick Fuentes is unacceptable. I urge you to throw those bums out, disavow them and relegate them to the dustbin of history where they belong. 1/

— David M Friedman (@DavidM_Friedman) November 25, 2022

Conservative student and supporter of US President Donald Trump, Nick Fuentes. Picture: William Edwards/AFP

“anti-Semites deserve no quarter among American leaders, right or left,” he said.

Axios, a news website, cited what it said was a source familiar with the dinner who said Trump “seemed very taken” with Fuentes, even though he didn’t seem to know anything about his background.

West, who is now known legally as Ye, has lost major brand partnerships with the German sportswear company Adidas and US retailer Gap over recent anti-Semitic statements and associations with extremists.