White nationalist Nick Fuentes has denied that he was part of a plot to make former President Donald Trump look bad following a controversial meeting between themselves and rapper Kanye West.
The podcaster took to messaging app Telegram on Tuesday in response to an NBC News report that said far-right commentator Milo Yiannopoulos had created a "trap" for Trump.
That trap was reportedly a dinner at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence that was attended by the former president, West (who has legally changed his name to Ye), Fuentes and Trump 2016 adviser Karen Giorno.
NBC News national political reporter Michael Caputo shared his article to Twitter along with a series of tweets about the events surrounding the Mar-a-Lago dinner, including that Yiannopoulos said he was the "architect" of the trap and sent Fuentes "just to make Trump's life miserable."
"My intention was not to hurt Trump by attending the dinner, that is fake news. I love Donald Trump," Fuentes said on Telegram.
He also shared a screenshot from the NBC News report that included Yiannopoulos' remark about using Fuentes to make Trump "miserable."
"This is just not true at all," Fuentes wrote.
Fuentes is a white nationalist who has expressed antisemitic views. The Anti-Defamation League describes him as a "white supremacist leader and organizer."
Yiannopoulos is now acting as an adviser for West's 2024 presidential campaign, which was one of the subjects discussed at the dinner, and has reportedly become disillusioned with Trump.
The former president has said he didn't know who Fuentes was and Fuentes also told NBC News that Trump didn't know him. Caputo also reported that Trump was meant to have a private dinner with West but after making his entrance, he invited West's party to dine with him.
Trump has faced strong criticism for his meeting with Fuentes and new questions about his viability as a 2024 presidential contender. The former president announced his new campaign for the White House shortly after the midterm elections.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday that there was no room in the Republican Party for antisemitism or white supremacy. He also said that anyone "meeting with people advocating that point of view, in my judgment, are highly unlikely to ever be elected president."
Republican Senator Mitt Romney told MSNBC on Monday: "It is disgusting to invite people like that to meet the former President of the United States. I think it has been clear that there is no bottom to the degree in which President Trump will degrade himself and the nation."
Newsweek reached out to former President Trump's office for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
