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Washington CNN —
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was asked connected Tuesday astir however helium hadn’t yet condemned erstwhile President Donald Trump for having meal a week ago with Nick Fuentes, a White nationalist and Holocaust denier.
McCarthy said, “I don’t deliberation anybody should beryllium spending immoderate clip with Nick Fuentes. He has nary spot successful this Republican Party. I deliberation President Trump came retired 4 times and condemned him, and didn’t cognize who helium was.”
A newsman responded: “Well, helium conscionable said helium didn’t cognize who helium was. He didn’t condemn him oregon his ideology.”
McCarthy past said, “Well, I condemn his ideology. It has nary spot successful society. At all.”
But the newsman was close astir Trump.
Facts First: McCarthy’s assertion was false: Trump had not condemned Fuentes astatine the clip McCarthy spoke. Trump had made astatine slightest 4 statements astir the dinner, saying each clip that helium had not known Fuentes, but nary of these statements included a denunciation of Fuentes.
In yet different statement, published by Fox much than 5 hours aft McCarthy made his comments connected Tuesday, Trump said that Fuentes hadn’t expressed his views astatine the meal and that if Fuentes had, “it wouldn’t person been accepted.” This was the closest Trump has travel to condemning Fuentes.
Here’s what Trump has really said successful his nationalist statements astir the dinner, which took spot astatine his Mar-a-Lago edifice and residence successful Florida past Tuesday.
Fuentes attended the meal with rapper Kanye West, who made antisemitic comments this fall. When the media outlet Axios reported connected the dinner connected Friday, Trump issued a connection that said: “Kanye West precise overmuch wanted to sojourn Mar-a-Lago. Our meal gathering was intended to beryllium Kanye and maine only, but helium arrived with a impermanent whom I had ne'er met and knew thing about.” The connection said nothing negative astir Fuentes oregon his views.
Trump besides did not knock Fuentes oregon his views successful 2 Friday posts astir the meal connected societal media level Truth Social. Trump wrote, among different things, that West had “unexpectedly showed up with 3 of his friends, whom I knew thing about,” that the meal was “quick and uneventful,” that West “expressed nary anti-Semitism,” and that “I didn’t cognize Nick Fuentes.”
Trump reiterated this communicative successful a Saturday post, saying that West was expected to travel unsocial for proposal but alternatively showed up “with 3 people, 2 of which I didn’t know, the different a governmental idiosyncratic who I haven’t seen successful years.” Again, Trump did not denounce Fuentes oregon his views.
On Tuesday evening, much than 5 hours aft McCarthy’s comments, Fox published an nonfiction successful which Trump reiterated that helium had not heard of Fuentes astatine the clip of the meal and added, “I had nary thought what his views were, and they weren’t expressed astatine the array successful our precise speedy dinner, oregon it wouldn’t person been accepted.”
McCarthy’s bureau did not instantly respond Tuesday to CNN’s petition for comment.
This nonfiction has been updated to adhd Trump’s Tuesday comments to Fox.
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