Photo: James Devaney/GC Images; Jason Davis/Getty Images
The Biden administration slammedDonald Trumpdays after the former president had a dinner at his members-only Mar-a-Lago club withKanye Westand white supremacist Nick Fuentes, two controversial figures who have made a number of anti-semitic statements in recent weeks and months.
“Bigotry, hate, and antisemitism have absolutely no place in America — including at Mar-A-Lago,” Deputy White House Press Secretary Andrew Bates said in a statement. “Holocaust denial is repugnant and dangerous, and it must be forcefully condemned.”
Biden, meanwhile, offered his own comment on the matter, telling reporters, “You don’t want to hear what I think” when asked about the dinner last week,CBS News reported.
The statement came days after Trump, 75, had dinner with West and Fuentes in Palm Beach, withAxiosciting a source who said “there was a lot of fawning back and forth” between the former president and Fuentes.
Trump has issued a number of statements after the dinner — which took place last Tuesday — was first reported, saying he “knew nothing” about Fuentes, but has refused to repudiate the white supremacist or his views.
“This past week,Kanye Westcalled me to have dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Shortly thereafter, he unexpectedly showed up with three of his friends, whom I knew nothing about,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Friday. “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.”
Trump continued: “He shows up with 3 people, two of which I didn’t know, the other a political person who I haven’t seen in years. I told him don’t run for office, a total waste of time, can’t win. Fake News went CRAZY!”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
As one longtime adviser to the former president described toNBC News, Trump’s response to his dinner with West and Fuentes has been “a f—ing nightmare,” particularly as Trump recently announced hiscandidacy for president in 2024.
source: people.com
