Trump’s Latest Dinner Guest: Nick Fuentes, White Supremacist - The New York Times

Former President Donald J. Trump connected Wednesday nighttime had meal with Nick Fuentes, an outspoken antisemite and racist who is 1 of the country’s astir salient young achromatic supremacists, astatine Mr. Trump’s backstage nine successful Florida, advisers to Mr. Trump conceded connected Friday.

Also astatine the meal was the performer Kanye West, who has besides been condemned for making antisemitic statements. Mr. West traveled to conscionable with Mr. Trump astatine the club, Mar-a-Lago, and brought Mr. Fuentes along, the advisers said.

The 4th attendee astatine the four-person dinner, Karen Giorno — a seasoned governmental operative who worked connected Mr. Trump’s 2016 run arsenic his authorities manager successful Florida — besides confirmed that Mr. Fuentes was there. Attempts to scope Mr. Fuentes done an intermediary connected Friday were unsuccessful.

In caller years, Mr. Fuentes, 24, has developed a precocious illustration connected the acold close and forged ties with specified Republican lawmakers arsenic Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Representative Paul Gosar of Arizona, mostly done his enactment of an yearly white-supremacist lawsuit called the America First Political Action Conference.

A Holocaust denier and unabashed racist, Mr. Fuentes openly uses hateful connection connected his podcast, successful caller weeks calling for the subject to beryllium sent into Black neighborhoods and demanding that Jews permission the country.

It is unclear however overmuch Mr. Trump knew of Mr. Fuentes’s well-documented bigotry and extremism earlier their dinner. In a statement, Mr. Trump 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 thing astir Mr. Fuentes’s views.

Even taking astatine look worth Mr. Trump’s protestation that helium knew thing of Mr. Fuentes, the evident easiness with which Mr. Fuentes arrived astatine the location of a erstwhile president who is nether aggregate investigations — including 1 related to keeping classified documents astatine Mar-a-Lago agelong aft helium near bureau — underscores the undisciplined, uncontrolled quality of Mr. Trump’s post-presidency arsenic helium embarks connected a 3rd run for the White House.

“This is conscionable different illustration of an atrocious deficiency of judgement from Donald Trump, which, combined with his past mediocre judgments, marque him an untenable wide predetermination campaigner for the Republican Party successful 2024,” said Chris Christie, a erstwhile politician of New Jersey and onetime adjacent state of Mr. Trump’s who is considering a candidacy of his own.

In a connection that did not sanction Mr. Trump but was issued successful effect to the Fuentes dinner, Matt Brooks, main enforcement of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said, “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.”

Mr. Fuentes, who attended the bloody far-right rally successful Charlottesville, Va., successful 2017, is champion known for moving a achromatic nationalist younker enactment known arsenic America First, whose adherents telephone themselves groypers oregon the Groyper Army. In the aftermath of Mr. Trump’s decision successful 2020, Mr. Fuentes and the groypers were progressive successful a bid of nationalist events supporting the erstwhile president.

At a alleged “Stop the Steal” rally successful Washington successful November 2020, Mr. Fuentes urged his followers to “storm each authorities capitol until Jan. 20, 2021, until President Trump is inaugurated for 4 much years.” The pursuing month, astatine a akin event, Mr. Fuentes led a assemblage successful chanting “Destroy the G.O.P.,” and urged radical not to ballot successful the January 2021 Georgia Senate runoff elections.

On Jan. 6, 2021, Mr. Fuentes led a ample radical of groypers to the Capitol wherever they rallied extracurricular successful enactment of Mr. Trump. The adjacent day, Mr. Fuentes wrote connected Twitter that the battle connected the Capitol was “awesome and I’m not going to unreal it wasn’t.”

At slightest 7 radical with connections to his America First enactment person been charged with national crimes successful transportation with the Capitol attack. In January, Mr. Fuentes was issued a subpoena by the House prime committee investigating the Jan. 6 onslaught connected the Capitol seeking accusation astir his relation successful it.

Mr. Christie speculated that hosting Mr. West and Mr. Fuentes served a tendency peculiar to Mr. Trump: “He can’t basal not having attraction each the time,” Mr. Christie said. “And so, having idiosyncratic amusement up astatine his nine — adjacent if you judge that helium didn’t cognize who Nick Fuentes was — and privation to beryllium with him, feeds the hunger helium feels for the attraction he’s missing since helium near the presidency.”

Mr. West, who ran for president successful 2020 and has said helium volition tally again successful 2024, posted connected Twitter a video successful which helium described the dinner. He claimed that Mr. Trump was “really impressed” with Mr. Fuentes.

Mr. West besides said that helium asked Mr. Trump to service arsenic his moving mate and claimed that Mr. Trump spoke derogatorily astir Mr. West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian.

Citing radical adjacent to Mr. Trump, immoderate earlier quality sum of Mr. West’s sojourn to Mar-a-Lago falsely reported that Mr. Fuentes did not be the dinner.