NEW YORK: In his third run for the White House after having dinner with Holocaust denier and rapper formerly known as Kanye West, former President Donald Trump is once again turning to his long history of downplaying bigotry.

A far-right activist named Nick Fuentes, who has used his online platform to spread antisemitic and white nationalist rhetoric, joined Trump on Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago club with West, now known as Ye Known by name.

Yeh, who claims to run for president in 2024, has made several anti-Semitic comments of his own in recent weeks, which has led to his social media accounts being suspended, his talent agency to fire him, and Businesses like Adidas cut ties with him.

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An investigation into his actions has also been launched by the sportswear manufacturer. White House spokesman Andrew Bates released a statement in which he declared: "Bigotry, hatred and anti-Semitism have no place in America – including at Mar-a-Lago. Holocaust denial must be strongly condemned because It is disgusting and dangerous.

In a series of comments on Friday, Trump claimed that prior to Fuentes' arrival at his club with Ye, he had "never met nor knew" anything about Fuentes. However, Trump made no mention of Fuentes' long history of antisemitic and racist remarks, and he made no mention of any of the individual's derogatory remarks.

He and Trump "got on great, he expressed no anti-semitism, and I appreciate all the nice things said about me on 'Tucker Carlson,'" Trump wrote on his social media platforms. Why don't I agree to meet, he continued?

Former presidents have a long history of failing to explicitly condemn hate speech. When asked to denounce the KKK after receiving an endorsement from the organization's former leader during his 2016 campaign, Trump hesitantly claimed in a televised interview that he "knew nothing about David Duke. "

 In the wake of deadly white nationalist demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, Trump drew criticism for claiming that "fault on both sides" was responsible for the bloodshed.

Additionally, speakers at his rallies often use inflammatory language, such as U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

The most recent incident, which occurred just a week after Trump announced his third attempt to win the Republican nomination, also demonstrated how loosely regulated access remained for the former president, especially in the absence of a traditional campaign operation.

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His Mar-a-Lago club came under intense scrutiny after it was discovered that Trump had been keeping hundreds of documents with classified markings there, leading to a federal investigation. But among former White House aides, the club — and the people it gave Trump access to — had long been a source of concern.

Trump's residence Mar-a-Lago also serves as a private club and a venue for events. Members of the public can reserve weddings, fundraisers and other events, and Trump often accompanies paid members and their guests to these events.

Ye first discussed the specifics of the dinner in a video that was uploaded to his Twitter account on Thursday. Yeh claimed that he traveled to Florida to serve as his running mate for Trump in 2024.

The meeting turned tense, reportedly due to Trump's criticism of Trump's wife, Kim Kardashian, and Ye's anger over Trump's "problems" at Ye's request.

That's when Trump essentially started yelling at me across the table and told me I'd lose. Saying I'm going to lose—has it ever worked for anyone in history? You asked a question in the video. You are having a conversation with Yeh!

Ye said that Trump was "really impressed with Nick Fuentes," whom he characterized as "really a loyalist" and questioned Trump on why he had not released the defendants, who have been convicted of murder in the US. was accused of participating in the rebellion. , Capital on January 6, 2021.

On Friday, Trump made several statements in an effort to clarify the details of the meeting. Kanye West had a burning desire to go to Mar-a-Lago. Kanye and I were only supposed to meet for dinner, but he showed up with a guest I had never met and had no knowledge of, Trump claimed in the first statement made public by his campaign.

Shortly thereafter, Trump posted on his social media accounts that he had "shown up unexpectedly" at his club with "three friends I knew nothing about".

On Tuesday nights several members joined us for dinner on the back patio. Dinner went off quickly and without incident. They then left for the airport," he wrote.

Shortly afterwards, he posted once more, saying that he had advised Yeh to "definitely not run for president" and that "any

In any case, he didn't express any anti-Semitism, and I valued all the kind words he said about me on "Tucker Carlson," he continued. Why shouldn't we meet, you ask? I was also unaware of Nick Fuentes.

While Fuentes couldn't completely rule out the possibility that Trump had heard of him, he added, "I don't think he knew that I was me at the dinner," after the trip.

On his show, he continued, "I didn't intend for my statements and my entire background to sort of become a PR issue for the president.
Trump detractors and some supporters, including David Friedman, who served as Trump's ambassador to Israel, immediately criticised the meeting.

You are better than this, my friend Donald Trump, I tell you. Even a social visit from a human scumbag like Nick Fuentes or an antisemite like Kanye West is unacceptable, wrote Friedman in a tweet. I implore you to remove those dregs from sight, to denounce them, and to consign them to history's trash can where they belong.

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In addition to condemning antisemitism on Saturday, potential 2024 rival and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo did so without specifically mentioning the dinner or the president he worked for.
According to Pompeo's letter, "anti-Semitism is a cancer," and "We stand with the Jewish people in the struggle against the oldest form of bigotry in the world."

While on vacation in Nantucket, Massachusetts, Biden was asked about the Trump dinner meeting. He responded, "You don't want to hear what I think."