The meeting held last week between former U.S. President Donald Trump and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes at the Mar-a-Lago mansion has prompted criticism within the Republican Party, such as that of Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, for whom these «very disturbing» meetings «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 a «racist and declared anti-Semite», instead of trying to move away from all that, he told CNN.
«It is very worrying and should not happen and we must avoid empowering extremism,» remarked the Republican governor, for whom the ideal would be to «diminish» the strength of these movements and not give them space.
«The last time I met with a white supremacist was in an armed confrontation. I was wearing a bulletproof vest. We arrested them, prosecuted them and sent them to prison,» compared Hutchinson, who is confident that the nation will not have to answer for what «Trump has said or done.»
On Tuesday 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 well-known white supremacist who has been banned from several 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 it was somewhat «unexpected,» since Kanye West showed up with three of his friends, «who I knew nothing about.»
«We had dinner Tuesday night with a lot of people (…) The dinner was quick and uneventful. Then they left for the airport,» said Trump, who assured that he «did not know» Fuentes.
