Days after announcing his 2024 run for president in November 2022, former President Donald Trump dined with antisemitic rapper Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago. After the meeting became public, Trump made numerous public remarks about the dinner — none of which condemned Fuentes. In September 2024, Fuentes described the dinner, saying, “Trump liked me, and I like him. ... We had a pretty good rapport, and so he kind of — he heard me. He kind of agreed a little with what I was saying.” While a few Republicans spoke out about Fuentes’ vile views, many were silent, including several Fox News commentators.
Fuentes is a white nationalist who leads a contingent of online trolls calling themselves “groypers.” In addition to making comments downplaying the severity of the Holocaust and giving the Nazi salute, Fuentes has also made a number of shockingly bigoted statements, including openly fantasizing on Rumble about teaming up with Hitler to kill a Black man he claimed he saw littering and more recently calling on Jewish people to “get the fuck out of America.” (Despite such statements, Fuentes’ fans have included some on Capitol Hill.)