McCarthy criticizes Trump's dinner with white nationalist

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Monday condemned Nick Fuentes days after former President Donald Trump hosted the white supremacist at a dinner with Ye, the musician formerly known as Kanye West, at Mar-a-Lago ahead of Thanksgiving weekend.

“I don't think anybody should be spending any time with Nick Fuentes,” McCarthy told reporters at the White House after President Biden hosted a meeting with congressional leaders. “He has no place in this Republican Party.”

Trump's dinner with Fuentes and Ye drew widespread criticism from members of both parties, though many Republican lawmakers have been silent on the matter.

Amid the backlash, the former president claimed he did not know who Fuentes was, but notably did not condemn his racist and antisemitic beliefs. He also did not condemn Ye’s antisemitic screeds, which have led to many platforms and businesses severing ties with the rapper.

On Tuesday, McCarthy, the leading contender to become House speaker after the GOP reclaimed the majority of the chamber, falsely claimed that Trump condemned Fuentes.

“Trump came out four times and condemned him and didn’t know who he was,” McCarthy said.

When a reporter pointed out that Trump did not condemn Fuentes or his ideology, McCarthy said, “Well, I condemn his ideology. It has no place in society at all.”

“The president can have meetings with who he wants,” McCarthy said when asked to clarify his position on Trump’s dinner guests. “But I don’t think anybody should have a meeting with Nick Fuentes. And his views are nowhere within the Republican Party or within this country itself.”

Fuentes, a 24-year-old Holocaust denier who has also made hateful comments about Black people and other minorities, is a popular figure among the far-right fringe. He has also been critical of McCarthy’s pursuit of the speakership.

McCarthy was also asked about Trump agreeing to meet with Ye following the rapper’s antisemitic comments earlier this month.

“I don’t think those are right comments,” McCarthy said. “And I don’t think you should associate with him as well.”

Trump, who recently announced his third campaign for president, defended himself in a series of posts on Truth Social, his social media network. He noted that Ye has praised him on Fox News.

"So I help a seriously troubled man, who just happens to be black, Ye, who has been decimated in his business and virtually everything else, and who has always been good to me, by allowing his request for a meeting at Mar-a-Lago, alone, so that I can give him very much needed 'advice,'" Trump wrote.