Former President Trump Faces Backlash After Dinner With Holocaust Denier

By Shoshana Newman ‘24
    Former President Donald Trump hosted Holocaust denier and white supremacist Nick Fuentes and openly antisemitic rapper Kanye West for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago home in November. Trump’s keenness to associate himself with those who spread hate has been condemned by the general public, yet praised by some extremists. 

“I think it is extremely irresponsible of Trump to associate with people who hold such misinformed, harmful views,” said junior Mimi Lebeau. “Spending time with such people reflects negatively on Trump as it shows that he does not condemn their actions.”
Trump’s former Vice President, Mike Pence criticized him for hosting the dinner. “President Trump was wrong to give a white nationalist, an antisemite and a Holocaust denier a seat at the table, and I think he should apologize for it,” Pence said. “He should denounce those individuals and their hateful rhetoric without qualification.” 
Following public outcry about the dinner, Trump tried to distance himself from West and Fuentes, saying, “This past week, Kanye West called me to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Shortly thereafter, he unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about...The dinner was quick and uneventful.” 
According to CNN, during the dinner Fuentes presented himself as part of President Trump’s base of supporters. Trump was reportedly occupied with Fuentes throughout the dinner and found him “very riveting,” being especially impressed with Fuentes’ ability to push off statistics and data, along with his familiarity with Trump's world. 
Junior Talia Perlstein states, “There is nothing professional about falsifying data. Specifically from a former president, that behavior can not be tolerated.” 
     Fuentes attended the 2017 “Unite the Right” white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and frequently spreads antisemitic and racist conspiracy theories. West also sparked huge controversy in the weeks surrounding the dinner by making numerous antisemitic remarks. 
The Anti-Defamation League identified Fuentes as a white supremacist and noted that he has been banned from most social media platforms for white nationalist speech. Fuentes was also on the grounds of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and has encouraged Trump’s unsupported claims about deception in the 2020 election. 
“President Trump has a pattern of associating with the wrong people and trying to cover it up, but the public sees right through it, knowing who he voluntarily surrounds himself with,” said junior Eliana Finkel. “It is frightening that a former president would want to have a sit down dinner with a Holocaust denier. Nothing about this dinner was quick and uneventful, yet sent a message that Trump does not condemn such hate.”