Trump meeting with Orthodox Jewish group after outrage over dinner with Kanye West and Nick Fuentes
Former president is under fire for his repeated antisemitic comments and actions
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Former President Donald Trump will meet on Friday with an Orthodox Jewish educational group following heavy criticism of dinner with Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — and Nick Fuentes and repeated antisemetic remarks.
Mr Trump, who announced another presidential run last month, had dinner with Ye and white supremacist Mr Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago over the week of Thanksgiving.
Mr Trump’s decision to host the two men was swiftly condemned by a range of observers, including longtime allies in the Jewish community. Mr Trump said that he did not know who Mr Fuentes was, but declined to apologise for hosting the pair and instead attacked Jewish leaders for being insufficently loyal to him.
The former president also defended Ye, who praised Adolf Hitler in an appearance on Alex Jones’ InfoWars show.
“You can’t say out loud that this person ever did anything good and I am done with that,” Ye said on the programme. “I am done with the classifications. Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.”
Now, on Friday, Mr Trump will give a speech before the President’s Conference of Torah Umesorah at his golf club in Miami. The speech will be part of a days-long gathering put on by the organisation that promotes religious education and Jewish day schools.
Mr Trump has had close ties to the Orthodox Jewish community, which is significantly more conservative than the left-leaning American Jewish community as a whole. He has also had strong relationships with right-wing politicians in Israel, though incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on Mr Trump to apologise for hosting Ye and Fuentes.
“On this matter, on Kanye West and that other unacceptable guest, I think it’s not merely unacceptable it’s just wrong,” Mr Netanyahu said on Meet the Press. “And I hope he sees his way to staying out of it and condemning it.”
But Mr Trump has long trafficked in antisemitic tropes, including accusing American Jews of disloyalty to the United States and complaining that they have not been sufficently grateful to him for his support of Israeli nationalism. Incidences of antisemitism have increased significantly in the US since Mr Trump was elected president in 2016.
His once-close relationship with Mr Netanyahu seems to have deteriorated since Mr Trump left the White House, with Axios reporting that Mr Trump lashed out at the far right Israeli leader after he congratulated President Joe Biden on his election win.
“I haven’t spoken to him since,” Mr Trump reportedly said of Mr Netanyahu. “F*** him.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments