Former United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Kanye West, now known as Ye, is a "seriously troubled man," blaming the rapper for a dinner where the latter allegedly brought known white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
The Republican businessman posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, alleging that Ye brought Fuentes to the Tuesday dinner, with Trump adding that he did not know who the man was.
Trump, Ye Fallout Over Fuentes
In his post, the former president said that he helped Ye, who he noted just happened to be Black. Trump said that the rapper has always been good to him and allowed his request for a meeting at Mar-a-Lago alone to give him much-needed advice.
However, Trump then said that Ye showed up to the dinner with three people, two of whom the former president said he did not know, the last one being a political person who he had not seen in years. The Republican businessman then told Ye not to run for office, calling it a total waste of time, adding that the rapper could not possibly hope to win, as per The Hill.
Reports last week claimed that Trump dined with Fuentes and Ye at the former president's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The alleged white supremacist made widely condemned racist remarks and has denied the Holocaust ever happened. Furthermore, several companies have cut ties with Ye over his antisemitic comments last month.
Adidas, the global shoe brand that is one of the many companies that cut ties with Ye, has also started an investigation into the rapper's alleged misconduct while he worked with members of a team selling Yeezy products.
According to Axios, Trump's reported dinner with a labeled white supremacist by the Justice Department came one week after his declaration of a 2024 presidential candidacy. The situation is expected to draw ire over the former president's embrace of extremists.
White Supremacist and Holocaust Denier
Fuentes is known to frequently promote racist and antisemitic conspiracy theories. Amid the controversy, White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said on Saturday that bigotry, hate, and antisemitism had absolutely no place in the United States. The official's statement added that denial of the Holocaust is repugnant and dangerous.
Despite the former president's claims, a source familiar with the dinner said that Trump "seemed very taken" with Fuentes. They argued that the Republican businessman was impressed that the 24-year-old was able to talk about statistics and was able to recall speeches that dated back to the former president's 2016 campaign.
The source said that Fuentes told Trump that he preferred the Republican businessman to be "authentic," arguing that the former president seemed to be scripted and unlike himself during his most recent 2024 campaign announcement speech.
Fuentes is known to have developed a high profile on the far-right and forged ties with similar-thinking Republican lawmakers in recent years. These include Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar. The 24-year-old was able to do so by leading an annual white-supremacist event that is known as the America First Political Action Conference, the New York Times reported.
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