Meet The Gen-Z White Supremacist Who Dined With Trump And Kanye West

Topline

Former President Donald Trump was heavily criticized for holding a meeting this week that included controversial artist Kanye West and Gen-Z political extremist Nick Fuentes, an outspoken far-right political activist who at just 24 has become infamous for his white supremacist and antisemitic beliefs.

Key Facts

Fuentes, 24, gained notoriety while still at Boston University in 2017 after saying he received death threats for attending the alt-right Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia—a white nationalist protest against the removal of Confederate statues that turned deadly when a driver deliberately rammed his vehicle into a group of counter-protesters, killing one person and injuring 35.

In 2020, Fuentes founded the America First Political Action Conference as a far-right alternative to the Conservative Political Action Coalition in an effort to distance himself from mainstream GOP, which he has criticized for its support of Israel and its “globalist” stance on America’s role in foreign affairs—attracting far-right members of Congress, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R.Ga.) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), to speak at its annual event.

Gosar later backed Fuentes after he met with him in June 2021, saying Republicans should appeal to young voters even if they don’t agree “100% on every issue.”

A staunch Trump supporter, Fuentes called on his followers (called Groypers) to “storm every state capitol” until “President Trump is inaugurated for four more years,” and went on to lead a group of followers to the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 insurrection, later calling the deadly riots “awesome” (Fuentes was subpoenaed one year later by the House committee investigating the insurrection).

Speaking at a far-right rally in February, Fuentes got a crowd to cheer for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, starting a “Putin” chant, and stating, “they say [Russian president] Vladimir Putin is Hitler”—Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt condemned the remarks as “disgusting.”

The Anti-Defamation League has accused Fuentes of promoting “numerous antisemitic and racist comments” on social media, including his support for the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border to immigrants, his belief that the white race is being weakened by “white genocide,” and his opposition of LGBTQ rights, which he referred to as the “bastardized Jewish subversion of the American creed,” arguing, “our civilization is being dismantled.”

Last December, Twitter became one of the last major social media outlets to suspend Fuentes’ account after “repeated violations” of the platform’s rules—following YouTube, Reddit, TikTok, Spotify, and the financial services platforms Venmo and Stripe.

Fuentes called the bans a “concerted effort by leftists, conservative inc gatekeepers and silicon valley censors to silence my show and the movement it has inspired.”

Crucial Quote

In a video posted on Twitter Wednesday night, West, who has also come under fire for a series of antisemitic and racist outbursts, said Trump was “really impressed” with Fuentes, who he described as a Trump “loyalist.”

Chief Critic

Aside from Democrats, multiple Republicans, including former Trump attorney David M. Friedman and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, called out Trump for meeting with Fuentes on Tuesday. In a subsequent interview, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt called Fuentes a “vicious bigot and known Holocaust denier,” denouncing him as “among the most prominent and unapologetic antisemites in the country.”

News Peg

After news of the dinner blew up, Trump tried to put distance between himself and his guests. In a statement on his social media site Truth Social, Trump said he had no intention of meeting with Fuentes, writing that the dinner was meant to be just him and West. Trump went on to say he “knew nothing about [Fuentes],” and that after a “quick and uneventful dinner,” he “left for the airport.” Meanwhile, Trump advisers have been scrambling to damage control, with one telling NBC News it was a, “f—ing nightmare.”

Tangent

After the meeting with Trump, West announced his 2024 presidential campaign with a video on Twitter, claiming he asked Trump to be his running mate and alleging that Trump “screamed” at him. West, who has legally changed his name to Ye, has been heavily criticized recently for spreading hateful antisemitic and racist comments, leading multiple companies, including Adidas, Balenciaga and Gap as well as record label DefJam to cut ties with him. In a video posted on Twitter Wednesday night, West, who has also come under fire for a series of antisemitic and racist outbursts, said Trump was “really impressed” with Fuentes, who he described as a Trump “loyalist.”

Further Reading

Kanye West—Under Misconduct Investigation By Adidas—Launches 2024 Presidential Campaign. Here’s What To Know. (Forbes)

Trump’s Latest Dinner Guest: Nick Fuentes, White Supremacist (New York Times)

Trump condemned for dining with white supremacist Nick Fuentes (The Guardian)

Trump criticized for dining with far-right activist Nick Fuentes and rapper Ye (Washington Post)

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/11/26/nick-fuentes-meet-the-gen-z-white-supremacist-who-dined-with-trump-and-kanye-west/