Republicans Blast Trump For Meeting With 'Avowed Racist' Nick Fuentes; He Blames Kanye West

Republicans condemned former President Donald Trump for meeting with controversial rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and white nationalist Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson told CNN's Dana Bash that he found Trump's meeting with Ye and Fuentes "troubling."

"No, I don't think it's a good idea for a leader that's setting an example for the country or the party to meet with (an) avowed racist or anti-Semite. And so it's very troubling and it shouldn't happen and we need to avoid those kind of empowering the extremes," Hutchinson said in his interview for CNN's "State of the Union."

Hutchinson urged Trump, who recently launched his third bid for the presidency, to "stay away" from extremists, the New York Post reported.

The Arkansas governor also noted that his state government prosecuted a white supremacist after an armed standoff in the past.

Kentucky Republican Rep. James Comer, the incoming House Oversight Committee chair, told NBC News' Chuck Todd that the former president "needs better judgment in who he dines with."

Comer added he didn't want to meet with either Fuentes or Ye.

Ohio Rep. Max Miller, who was endorsed by Trump in the midterm elections, also called out the meeting.

Miller, who lost a family in the Holocaust, said Fuentes' "brand of hate has no place in our public discourse."

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie condemned the meeting as well, describing it as "awful, unacceptable conduct" from Trump.

On Tuesday, Trump met with the two controversial figures, along with Florida Republican political operative Karen Giorno, in his Florida home for almost two hours, ABC News reported.

Trump on Friday posted on his Truth Social account that Ye called him to have dinner but claimed that he didn't know the rapper would bring other guests, who included Fuentes.

"This past week, Kanye West called 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 said.

An unnamed source told ABC News that during the dinner, Ye asked Trump to nominate him as his vice president for the 2024 presidential elections.

But the day after, Trump called Ye a "seriously troubled man" and blamed him for bringing Fuentes to the dinner.

In October, Ye was banned from Twitter after he tweeted anti-Semitic messages, which included "going death con 3 On Jewish people."

Ye lost his billionaire status after Adidas, Balenciaga and Gap terminated their deals with the rapper over his anti-Semitic views, according to Forbes.

On the other hand, Fuentes was involved in the "Unite the Right" white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017 and the Capitol riot in 2021.

In one of his live stream videos, Fuentes denied that the Holocaust happened and compared its victims to cookies in an oven.