Defeated former President Trump's dinner with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes leaves a bad taste for many reasons. The most obvious of which is that he sees fit to legitimize immoral people with repugnant views because they have seen fit to cozy up to him.
Of course, it is hardly surprising he has done so. This is a man who has excused David Duke, the events in Charlottesville and praised The Proud Boys. That Trump's daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism and has Jewish grandchildren does not enter into the equation.
True to form, Trump has claimed not to know Fuentes as if anyone who could come to Mar-a-Lago to have an audience with the former President. It has long been Trump's standard operating procedure to claim he does not know the people with whom he associates. So I'm not buying him blaming Kanye West though it is remarkable how anti-Semites find a way to flock together.
A few of Trump's allies have seen fit to condemn his choice of dinner companions. I actually think former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman has a point when he condemns Trump breaking bread with West and Fuentes and former President Obama's association with Louis Farrakhan and Jeremiah Wright in equal measure. Both are wrong.
Alas Friedman is an exception to the rule. Most Republicans have remained silent on the matter while some like Senators John Thune of South Dakota and Thom Tillis of North Carolina blame staffers as opposed to holding Trump responsible for his own behavior.
And while Friedman's commentary is admirable if Trump is the nominee in 2024 can Friedman honestly tell us he won't support him once more? If he cannot then his condemnation of Trump's behavior will have been meaningless.
Consequently, Fuentes' standing will continue to grow among white supremacists and within American conservatism at large. This will leave more than a bad taste. It will leave a stain on the American soul and continue to weaken its moral fabric.
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