One week after former President Donald Trump announced he would seek reelection, he dined at his Mar-a-Lago home with two men known for their racist and antisemitic beliefs: Nick Fuentes and Ye, the musician formerly known as Kanye West.
The Department of Justice identified Fuentes as a white supremacist last year. He’s a Holocaust-denier who has threatened violence against Jewish people and spread hate against Black Americans and other groups.
Ye has also been condemned for making antisemitic and anti-Black comments on social media.
The meeting drew widespread criticism from people across the political spectrum, but mostly absent were the voices of sitting lawmakers from his own party. A handful of Republicans, including outgoing lawmakers Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger condemned Trump over the weekend, but overwhelmingly the party was silent. On Monday evening, Mike Pence reportedly said that Trump should apologize for the meeting.
Other Republicans have started to respond to reporters as they’ve returned to Washington on Monday evening, calling the meeting a “bad idea” and saying antisemitism can’t be tolerated but stopped short of condemning Trump directly.
In statements, Trump claimed Fuentes was invited by Ye, and that he did not know him. The dinner is the most recent example of the former president’s long history of associating with bigoted individuals and elevating their ideas.
In response to Trump’s dinner with Fuentes and Ye, we asked every Republican Senator and every member of Republican House leadership if they thought the meeting was appropriate, and if they condemned it. We also looked through the public statements of these lawmakers to collect any reactions to Trump’s dinner.
We asked each lawmaker:
- Do you think it was appropriate for Trump to meet with Fuentes and Ye?
- Do you condemn it?
- Do you call on your party leadership to speak out on it? (asked of non-leadership members)
We’ll continue to follow this story and update it with any future statements.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R) California
No response at publishing time.
Rep. Steve Scalise (R) Louisiana
No response at publishing time.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R) New York
No response at publishing time.
Rep. Gary Palmer (R) Alabama
No response at publishing time.
Rep. Tom Emmer (R) Minnesota
No response at publishing time.
Rep. Mike Johnson (R) Louisiana
No response at publishing time.
Rep. Richard Hudson (R) North Carolina
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) Kentucky
No response at publishing time.
Sen. John Thune (R) South Dakota
“Well, that’s just a bad idea on every level. I don’t know who is—who’s advising him on his staff, but I hope that whoever that person was got fired.”
Source
Sen. John Barrasso (R) Wyoming
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Roy Blunt (R) Missouri
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R) Iowa
“It’s ridiculous.”
Source
Sen. Rick Scott (R) Florida
There is no room in the Republican Party for white supremacy and antisemitism. It’s wrong. I think Republicans should all condemn white supremacy.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R) Tennessee
No response at publishing time.
Sen. John Boozman (R) Arkansas
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Mike Braun (R) Indiana
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Richard Burr (R) North Carolina
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R) West Virginia
“It’s ridiculous you would do something with someone who espouses those views.”
Source
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R) Louisiana
“President Trump hosting racist antisemites for dinner encourages other racist antisemites. These attitudes are immoral and should not be entertained. This is not the Republican Party.”
Source
Sen. Susan Collins (R) Maine
“I condemn white supremacy and anti-semitism. The president should never have had a meal or even a meeting with Nick Fuentes.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R) Texas
“It’s bad – there’s no question about it.”
Source
Sen. Tom Cotton (R) Arkansas
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R) North Dakota
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Mike Crapo (R) Idaho
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R) Texas
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Steve Daines (R) Montana
“We cannot tolerate antisemitism. Period.”
Source
Sen. Deb Fischer (R) Nebraska
“It’s not something I would have done. I think it’s wrong anytime you elevate comments that that person says.”
Source
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) South Carolina
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) Iowa
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R) Tennessee
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R) Missouri
No response at publishing time.
Sen. John Hoeven (R) North Dakota
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) Mississippi
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Jim Inhofe (R) Oklahoma
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Ron Johnson (R) Wisconisin
No response at publishing time.
Sen. John Kennedy (R) Louisiana
No response at publishing time.
Sen. James Lankford (R) Oklahoma
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Mike Lee (R) Utah
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R) Wyoming
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Roger (doc) Marshall (R) Kansas
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Jerry Moran (R) Kansas
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) Alaska
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Rand Paul (R) Kentucky
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Rob Portman (R) Ohio
“It was wrong and inappropriate to have that meeting, white supremacy has no place in our nation’s culture and it’s antithetical to anything we stand for as Americans.”
Source
Sen. Jim Risch (R) Idaho
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R) Utah
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R) South Dakota
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R) Florida
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Ben Sasse (R) Nebraska
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Tim Scott (R) South Carolina
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Richard Shelby (R) Alabama
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) Alaska
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R) North Carolina
“If the reports are true and the president didn’t know who he was, whoever let him in the room should be fired.”
Source
Sen. Pat Toomey (R) Pennsylvania
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R) Alabama
No response at publishing time.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R) Mississippi
No response at publishing time.
With reporting from Ian Couzens, Tyriana Evans, Matt Loffman, Kyle Midura, and Ali Schmitz.
