The White House on Saturday took aim at former President Trump for dining with white nationalist Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago this week, saying that hate has “no place in America.”
“Bigotry, hate, and antisemitism have absolutely no place in America — including at Mar-a-Lago,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement.
“Holocaust denial is repugnant and dangerous, and it must be forcefully condemned,” Bates said.
The White House was responding reports that Trump had hosted Ye, formerly known as Kane West, at his private club on Tuesday, and that Fuentes was also in attendance. Fuentes, a white nationalist, has a history of making racist remarks and engaging in Holocaust revisionism — though he has claimed that he does not deny the Holocaust.
YE SWIPES DONALD TRUMP IN FIRST 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN VIDEO
Former President Donald Trump announces he is running for president for the third time at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Nov. 15, 2022.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Trump’s hosting of Fuentes drew swift backlash across the political spectrum and led Trump to issue a statement distancing himself from the commentator. It comes just weeks after Trump announced a 2024 presidential bid. Ye has also announced his own 2024 bid.
Trump, in statements on TRUTH Social, said he didn’t know who Fuentes was and that the purpose of the dinner was to meet with Ye — who has also faced criticism for antisemitic remarks — about business and politics.
DONALD TRUMP ANNOUNCES 2024 RE-ELECTION RUN FOR PRESIDENT
“This past week, Kanye West called me to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago,” he said in his first statement. “Shortly thereafter, he unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about. We had dinner on Tuesday evening with many members present on the back patio. The dinner was quick and uneventful. They then left for the airport.”
“Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, was asking me for advice concerning some of…
