Donald Trump dines with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and hip hop artist Ye at Mar-a-Lago - The Washington Post

David M. Friedman, who served arsenic his ambassador to Israel, publically took Trump to task for consorting with the troublesome pair, tweeting that the erstwhile president was “better than this.”

The backstage meal is the latest illustration of however the erstwhile president has courted individuals with utmost oregon racist views. Ye, the rapper formerly known arsenic Kanye West, precocious mislaid billions of dollars of nett worthy aft businesses chopped ties with him for repeatedly making antisemitic remarks. Fuentes, a governmental commentator connected YouTube, has a past of touting achromatic nationalist ideas.

Ye posted a video Thursday to Twitter featuring far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos listening to the rapper recap his Tuesday gathering with Trump. The rapper, who has said helium plans to run for president successful 2024, said helium asked Trump to beryllium his moving mate. Trump was uninterested, Ye said, but helium was “really impressed” with Fuentes.

“Nick Fuentes, dissimilar truthful galore of the lawyers and truthful galore radical that helium was near with connected his 2020 campaign, he’s really a loyalist,” Ye, who returned to Twitter this week aft a caller ban, said successful the video.

Trump said helium lone planned to person meal with Ye, who has repeatedly expressed his enactment for the erstwhile president. The rapper brought Fuentes on uninvited, Trump said.

“This past week, Kanye West called maine to person meal astatine Mar-a-Lago,” the erstwhile president said Friday connected Truth Social. “Shortly thereafter, helium unexpectedly showed up with 3 of his friends, whom I knew thing about.”

“We had meal connected Tuesday evening with galore members contiguous connected the backmost patio,” Trump added. “The meal was speedy and uneventful. They past near for the airport.”

Trump has insisted to aides since Tuesday that helium did not cognize Fuentes, a Trump protagonist progressive connected Truth Social, the erstwhile president’s societal media network, though immoderate successful his ellipse said they were skeptical.

Karen Giorno, a erstwhile Trump adjutant who ran the then-candidate’s Florida run successful 2016 earlier becoming a elder adviser, said she arrived astatine the nine successful a car with Ye and Fuentes. She said she didn’t antecedently cognize Fuentes and met him earlier that time for the archetypal time. The radical came successful unneurotic past security, she said.

A idiosyncratic acquainted with the substance said Fuentes was not connected the database but got successful due to the fact that helium was a impermanent of the rapper.

“There is nary strategy present that he’s not the president. If you’re connected the list, you tin thrust up to the gate, and for idiosyncratic similar Kanye West, he’s going to bring his unit oregon different radical with him successful the club,” this idiosyncratic said. “No 1 is cautiously checking.”

Giorno said Trump greeted the trio: Ye, Fuentes and different antheral who she lone knew arsenic Jamal, unsocial without unit oregon household successful the foyer of the club, and “graciously” told the rapper his radical should articulation for meal astatine his customary array connected the patio. They were served a accepted Thanksgiving meal — not connected the paper — with Ye getting a 2nd helping of stuffing.

She said Trump “obviously” recognized her and the rapper, but did not look to admit Fuentes initially. A idiosyncratic acquainted with the meal said West introduced the 24-year-old arsenic “Nick.”

Giorno said she sat to the president’s right, portion the rapper sat to his left, and Fuentes and different guest, Jamal, an worker astatine Boeing who funny Trump with speech astir level contracts, sat crossed the table, she said. The rapper took pictures with galore members of the club, she said.

Fuentes, big of YouTube’s “America First” show, grew up Catholic successful the Chicago suburbs earlier dropping retired of Boston University. Since then, he’s go fashionable with young conservatives captious of constitution Republicans for not taking hard-line positions connected taste issues. Fuentes attended the 2017 Unite the Right rally successful Charlottesville wherever a achromatic nationalist killed an anti-racism protester, but has denied being a neo-Nazi oregon a achromatic nationalist. He has expressed interest on his show astir the U.S. colonisation becoming little White, antecedently arguing that “dramatic and extremist change” volition bring “not-insignificant consequences, and not each of them good.”

Giorno said she did not perceive Ye oregon Fuentes accidental thing that could beryllium viewed arsenic antisemitic oregon racist, but Fuentes did stock his sentiment connected the erstwhile president’s reelection campaign. Trump was rapidly impressed by Fuentes and peppered him with questions, Giorno said.

“He was impressed with Nick and his cognition of Trump World,” she said. “Nick knew radical and figures and speeches and rallies and what surrounded the Trump culture, peculiarly erstwhile it came to the base.”

And Trump wanted to speech astir his campaign, including those who would tally against him successful 2024, his announcement code and however helium was going to win. Fuentes told Trump that helium preferred erstwhile helium was fiery and off-the-cuff, peculiarly arsenic it related to his announcement speech, Giorno said. Trump repeatedly talked astir his basal and young voters, Giorno said. Another idiosyncratic acquainted with the meal said Trump liked Fuentes due to the fact that helium flattered him and encouraged his astir pugilistic instincts.

“Did the president and Nick person a casual speech astir his past presidency, the announcement and style, and polling and prospects of different radical coming into the primary, and what young radical thought astir him? Yeah they did,” Giorno said.

The casual meal — which featured comments astir celebrities, American authorities and much — turned heated erstwhile Trump “started talking negatively” astir Kim Kardashian, Ye’s erstwhile wife, Giorno said.

Tensions besides roseate erstwhile the rapper asked Trump to articulation his 2024 summons arsenic vice president, which helium rejected.

A idiosyncratic acquainted with the meal said it was “cordial until it wasn’t.” Trump grew large and animated, the idiosyncratic said. “Everyone was paying attention,” the idiosyncratic said.

“It was strained,” the idiosyncratic said, and wrapped aft astir 2 hours. “It ended cordial but tense,” the idiosyncratic said.

Trump’s meal with the 2 men drew disapproval from some Republicans and Democrats.

Matt Brooks, enforcement manager of the Republican Jewish Coalition, a governmental radical that supports Jewish Republicans, challenged the erstwhile president and different governmental leaders to region themselves from Fuentes and Ye.

“We powerfully condemn the virulent antisemitism of Kanye West and Nick Fuentes and telephone connected each governmental leaders to cull their messages of hatred and garbage to conscionable with them,” Brooks told The Post connected Friday.

The erstwhile president “befriending” Ye and Fuentes is telling, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) tweeted Friday. “Tell maine who your friends are, and I volition archer you who you are,” Torres wrote.

Even immoderate of the president’s accustomed allies were publically captious of the meeting, including his erstwhile ambassador to Israel.

In a tweet successful which helium referred to “my person Donald Trump,” Friedman wrote: “Even a societal sojourn from an antisemite similar Kanye West and quality scum similar Nick Fuentes is unacceptable. I impulse you to propulsion those bums out, disavow them and relegate them to the dustbin of past wherever they belong.”

Isaac Arnsdorf contributed to this report.