Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt mentioned Donald Trump is “looking to make The usa hate once more” after the previous president admitted to having dinner with a outstanding white supremacist days after pronouncing his 2024 presidential marketing campaign.
“For Donald Trump to dine with infamous white supremacists and unrepentant bigots ― I feel, at a minimal, it’s clarifying,” Greenblatt mentioned on CNN. “He’s looking to make The usa hate once more and working arguably probably the most unapologetic white nationalist presidential marketing campaign that we’ve ever noticed.”
Trump hosted a dinner on Tuesday at his Mar-a-Lago lodge with white nationalist activist Nick Fuentes and Ye, the rapper previously referred to as Kanye West, whose skilled empire has been upended through a chain of new antisemitic tirades and next allegations of place of work misconduct.
Amid livid backlash over the assembly, together with from some Republicans, Trump has distanced himself from Ye and insisted he didn’t know who Fuentes used to be. In keeping with Trump, the dinner used to be meant to be with Ye, who introduced Fuentes as his visitor.
Greenblatt mentioned it “makes no distinction” that Trump claimed to not know Fuentes.
“It’s demonstrably unpresidential when you’ll be able to’t display a elementary wisdom of other folks in public lifestyles,” he mentioned, noting that during 2016, Trump claimed to not know “anything else about” David Duke and refused to sentence the previous KKK chief upon getting his endorsement.
Ye, who has been accused through former staff of praising Adolf Hitler and Nazis in industry conferences, posted a number of movies on Thursday claiming that Trump used to be “truly inspired” with Fuentes. Resources additionally instructed The New York Instances and Axios that Trump praised Fuentes on the dinner and at one level mentioned, “he will get me.”
Fuentes has ties to key allies of Trump, reminiscent of Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.). Each lawmakers attracted livid backlash previous this yr when they spoke at a white nationalist convention arranged through Fuentes.
In January, Fuentes used to be subpoenaed through the Area committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, assault at the U.S. Capitol through Trump supporters in search of to overturn the 2020 election. No less than seven other folks with connections to Fuentes’ The usa First motion have been charged with federal crimes in relation to the revolt.