Trump hosts Jewish group but doesn’t mention Kanye West-Holocaust denier dinner

Miami, Florida - Donald Trump hosted an Orthodox Jewish group on Friday without addressing his recent dinner with the antisemitic rapper Kanye "Ye" West and white supremacist Nick Fuentes.

Donald Trump hosted an Orthodox Jewish group on Friday, and told the audience, "You have to be loyal to your friends."
Donald Trump hosted an Orthodox Jewish group on Friday, and told the audience, "You have to be loyal to your friends."  © REUTERS

The former president's speech — his first to a Jewish group since his November 22 dinner meeting with Ye and Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago resort — took place at Trump’s National Doral club in Miami.

Speaking for nearly half an hour at the Torah Umesorah Presidents Conference for educators, Trump boasted about all he did for Israel while he was in the White House. He also repeated his past calls for Jews to be more "loyal" to him.

"You have to treat your friends with dignity, and you have to be loyal to those friends," he said.

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In its coverage of Trump’s speech, the Times of Israel reported the 45th president refers to Israel as "your country" when speaking to Jewish Americans.

Trump complained Friday that despite what he’s done to support Israel politically, Jewish voters in the US turned up for him in low numbers when he ran for office in 2016 and 2020 — in which he lost the popular vote in both campaigns by a total of nearly 10 million ballots.

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Kanye "Ye" West has spewed many antisemitic remarks in recent months.
Kanye "Ye" West has spewed many antisemitic remarks in recent months.  © REUTERS

The friendly crowd in Miami on Friday frequently interrupted Trump with applause.

In addition to calling himself "the best ally you’ve ever had," Trump said some Democrats in the US were "very much opposed to Israel and frankly to Jewish people."

In the aftermath of his controversial Thanksgiving meeting with Ye, Trump claimed he invited the "Black Skinhead" rapper to dinner but didn’t know he was bringing Fuentes, an avowed Holocaust denier. Yet, Trump has since declined opportunities to denounce his Mar-a-Lago dining companions.

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Ye has been slammed for a recent series of antisemitic remarks and banned from social media platform multiple times, most recently from Twitter for posting an image of a swastika and a Jewish star.

On a December 1 interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Ye declared "I like Hitler" and credited him as an innovator in various fields. In his recent interview with the founder of the Proud Boys, he said Jewish people should "forgive Hitler."

Trump and Ye have both announced they’re running for president in 2024. Since their dinner last month, the rapper has reportedly added Fuentes to his campaign team.

Cover photo: Collage: REUTERS

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