New Delhi: Former US President Donald Trump, who recently announced his candidacy for the 2024’s presidential race, recently had dinner with controversial rapper Kanye West at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach on Tuesday night.
Nick Fuentes, “a leading figure of the far-right,” accompanied the duo. In an episode of his podcast, Fuentes had ‘jokingly’ denied the Holocaust and compared the Jews gassed at concentration camps to cookies in an oven.
“Trump basically started screaming at me, telling me I was going to lose,” the rapper said in a video.
Trump took to his own social media site to share his version of events. “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. We had dinner on Tuesday evening with many members present on the back patio. The dinner was quick and uneventful,” the former US president said.
In the video, West said that “Trump was impressed by Fuentes.” He apparently told Trump “Why when you had the chance, did you not free the January sixers?” The January sixers are the group responsible for the usurping of the Capitol, who are currently awaiting trial. “I came to him as someone who loves Trump. And I said, go and get these people that the media tried to cancel and told you to step away from,” said West.
Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the White House have not taken kindly to the meeting. “If it was any other party, breaking bread with Nick Fuentes would be instantly disqualifying for Trump. The most extreme views have found a home in today’s MAGA Republican party,” DNC spokesperson Ammar Moussa told Politico.
“Bigotry, hate, and antisemitism have absolutely no place in America — including at Mar-A-Lago. Holocaust denial is repugnant and dangerous, and it must be forcefully condemned,” the White House said in a statement.
West has been embroiled in a series of controversies, most recently for the antisemitic comments he shared on Instagram, which resulted in a ban from the platform. He has previously suggested that slavery was ‘a choice’ and called the Covid vaccine “the mark of the beast.”
Adidas has withdrawn its partnership with West, dropping the Yeezy line, which once accounted for half of their total profits. Italian fashion house Balenciaga also cut ties with West.
Trump also reportedly used profanities against West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian. The rapper was far from impressed at being told he was going to lose in 2024. “ I’m like, whoa, whoa, hold on, hold on Trump, you’re talking to Ye,” said West.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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