US: Republican leaders criticise Trump’s Mar-a-Lago dinner with Fuentes and Kanye

The top two Republicans brokethe silence about former United States president Donald Trump’s dinner with white supremacist Nick Fuentes and musician Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) who has recently come under fire for his anti-semitic remarks.

On Tuesday, Senate minority leader and Republican Mitch McConnellduring his weekly address told reporters, “There is no room in the Republican party for antisemitism or white supremacy and anyone meeting with people advocating that point of view, in my judgment, are highly unlikely to ever be elected president of the United States.”

This comes after Trump announced his bid to run for the presidential election in 2024, however, the former president is yet to win the Republican nomination.

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When asked if he would support Trump should he become the party’s 2024 nominee, the senate minority leader repeated, “There is simply no room in the Republican Party for antisemitism or white supremacy…That would apply to all of the leaders in the party who will be seeking offices.” Notably, while Trump was not mentioned by name in McConnell’s remarks, this indicates a shift in the GOP.

House minority leader, Kevin McCarthy, on Tuesday, said, “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.”He added that Trump should also not associate with Ye. These remarks were made following his meeting with incumbent President Biden in Washington.

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Meanwhile, former vice president Mike Pence called for Trump to apologise for meeting with Fuentes.“President Trump was wrong to give a white nationalist, an antisemite and Holocaust denier a seat at the table, and I think he should apologise for it,” Pence said during an interview with NewsNation. He added that the former president should “denounce those individuals and their hateful rhetoric without qualification”.

ALSO WATCH |Journalist Ray Locker assess Trump's Mar-a-Lago dinner with Ye and Nick Fuentes

Last week, Trump hosted, Fuentes who has been described as a white supremacist by the US Department of Justice and Ye who has drawn criticism for anti-semitic comments, at Mar-a-Lago. Subsequently, on Friday, amid mounting criticism,the former president claimed that he “knew nothing” about Fuentes and that he “unexpectedly” showed up at the dinner with Ye.

(With inputs from agencies)

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