The meeting held last week by former US President Donald Trump and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes at the Mar-a-Lago mansion has sparked criticism from within the Republican Party, such as from Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, for whom these “very worrying” encounters “empower” extremism.
Hutchinson has stated that it is not a “good idea” for a political leader like Trump, who aspires to return to the White House, to meet with an “outspoken racist and anti-Semite”, instead of trying to get away from all that, he has told CNN.
“It is very worrying and it should not happen and we must avoid empowering extremists,” remarked the Republican governor, for whom the ideal would be to “reduce” the strength of these movements and not give them space.
“The last time I met a white supremacist it was in an armed confrontation. I was wearing a bulletproof vest. We arrested them, prosecuted them and sent them to prison,” Hutchinson has compared, who is confident that the nation will not have to respond for what “Trump has said or done.”
On Tuesday of last week, Trump held a private dinner at his lavish Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida, which was attended not only by Fuentes, but also by rapper Kanye West, who was recently involved in a new controversy, this time for anti-Semitic comments.
Fuentes is a recognized white supremacist who has been banned from various social media platforms for his racist rhetoric. In turn, he has also endorsed Donald Trump’s theories on electoral fraud and could be seen on the Capitol grounds during that January 6, 2021 in which a mob tried to stop the peaceful transfer of presidential power.
Trump himself acknowledged on his social network –Truth Social– the celebration of that dinner, although he said that it was somewhat “unexpected”, since Kanye West appeared with three of his friends, “of whom he knew nothing”.
“We had dinner Tuesday night with many people (…) Dinner was quick and without incident. Then they went to the airport,” said Trump, who assured that he “did not know” Fuentes.
