White House further condemns Trump's dinner with Ye and Fuentes

WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday stepped up its criticism of former President Donald Trump's decision to host Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and white supremacist Nick Fuentes for dinner at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

“This is something that’s important that we speak very clear about and we speak very, very forcefully about. This administration, this president, totally rejects bigotry, racism, antisemitism, and there is just no place for these types of vile forces in our society,” White House press secretary Jean-Pierre said at Monday's briefing when she was asked about the dinner.

She also said it's harmful when people don't condemn such events.

"When you do not speak out against these type of poisonous and dangerous kind of remarks or representation, if you will, that is also incredibly dangerous within itself," Jean-Pierre said.

"We should all be condemning this, and we should be very clear, very clear, and say it in really absolute clear terms," she added. "And again, this is something that we condemn and we will continue to speak out against."

One prominent Republican who has spoken out against Trump's decision is former Vice President Mike Pence.

“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, and he should denounce those individuals and their hateful rhetoric," Pence said in an interview on NewsNation airing Monday night.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

Jean-Pierre's comments reinforced the White House’s denunciation of the meeting over the weekend. “Bigotry, hate, and antisemitism have absolutely no place in America — including at Mar-A-Lago,” deputy White House press secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement Saturday. “Holocaust denial is repugnant and dangerous, and it must be forcefully condemned.”

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation spotlights stringent New York state laws that have long drawn criticism

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe debate over AI’s future rages on both coasts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDecades-old march dispute reignites in Northern Ireland, threatening political crisis

Trump said Friday on his Truth Social platform that Ye called him to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago. He said Ye, who has repeatedly espoused and spread antisemitic beliefs, "unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about."

Fuentes, a far-right activist and Holocaust denier, is helping Ye, who recently lost major endorsement deals for having made antisemitic remarks, with his second presidential campaign, said a person familiar with the dinner conversation. After news of the dinner became public, Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign went into damage control mode.

Asked Saturday about Trump's dinner, President Joe Biden told reporters, "You don't want to hear what I think."

In announcing his 2020 presidential bid, Biden highlighted the 2017 violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a white supremacist rammed his car into a group of counterprotesters who had gathered in opposition to a large gathering of white nationalists. One of the counterprotesters was killed.