Biden had a blunt response for reporters when they asked about Trump’s dinner with Nick Fuentes

Former president Donald Trump has been back in the news this week, after rapper Kanye West (who simply calls himself ‘Ye’ these days) turned up at his Mar-a-Lago resort for dinner and brought along some controversial companions – one of them being Nick Fuentes.

Fuentes, who’s been labelled a white supremacist by the US Department of Justice, is the founder of the far-right, white nationalist America First Foundation.

He’s also a Holocaust denier, and hosts an online show – America First with Nicholas Fuentes – in which he has made antisemitic comments.

The bizarre dinner between Ye and Trump – who both intend to run for president in 2024 – allegedly involved the former asking the Republican politician to be his running mate (yes, really), Trump “screaming” at Ye that he’d lose in 2024, and the former Apprentice host insulting West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian.

“You can tell her I said that,” Trump is alleged to have said – the insult, however, was bleeped out in a “debrief” video West posted to social media after the dinner.

While Trump didn’t comment on this specific accusation, he did take to his Truth Social messaging platform and described West’s arrival as “unexpected”, with the dinner being “quick and uneventful”.

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He wrote: “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 know nothing about.

“We had dinner on Tuesday evening with many members present on the back patio. The dinner was quick and uneventful. They then left for the airport.”

In another post, he added: “Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, was asking me for advice concerning some of his difficulties, in particular having to do with his business.

“We also discussed, to a lesser extent, politics, where I told him he should definitely not run for president. ’Any voters you may have should vote for Trump.’

“Anyway, we got along great, he expressed no antisemitism, and I appreciated all of the nice things he said about me on Tucker Carlson.

“Why wouldn’t I agree to meet? Also, I didn’t know Nick Fuentes.”

Nevertheless, it isn’t the first time the words Trump and white supremacy have appeared in the same sentence. Back in the 2020 presidential debates, he was asked by one moderator if he would condemn white supremacists.

“Proud Boys: stand back and stand by,” he said instead, referring to the far-right extremist group described as “primarily misogynistic, Islamophobic, transphobic and anti-immigration” by America’s Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

The ADL also notes that some Proud Boys members “espouse white supremacist and antisemitic ideologies”.

And so, as discussions begin once more about Trump’s relationship with white supremacists – in whatever form that may be – US President Joe Biden was asked for his take on his old competitor having dinner with a notorious white supremacist.

“You don’t want to hear what I think,” was his incredibly short response, suggesting he wanted to say words which would be unpresidential, and certainly couldn’t be broadcast on air.

After all, president Biden has certainly made his feelings known about Trump and his associates in the past – one of the most well-known being when the formalities didn’t work during a 2020 presidential debate, so he plainly asked his opponent: “Will you shut up, man?”

An evergreen quote, of course.

However, Biden’s choice of words about Fuentes has received a mixed reaction from individuals online, with some wishing he actually did let us know what he thinks – you know, being the President of the United States and everything.

Advocate and journalist John Aravosis commented: “This Trump/Fuentes is the kind of thing that Biden should weigh in on. Some moral leadership from the top is important.”

Author Jason Overstreet added: “Horrible answer. Correct answer: f*** every racist and antisemite motherf***er out there.”

Others praised the company Mr Biden keeps, with content creator @JoJoFromJerz tweeting: “One of my favourite things about President Biden is that he doesn’t break bread with Holocaust-denying, incel Nazis like Nick Fuentes.”

Another Twitter user, John Collins, tweeted: “I like how Joe Biden never hangs out with Nick Fuentes.”

Meanwhile, the White House appeared to go further than Biden in their comment on Trump’s dinner, with a spokesperson saying: “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.”

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