The Wall Street Journal editorial board lambasted former President Trump after his dinner with white supremacist Nick Fuentes and Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West.
“Mr. Trump isn’t going to change, and the next two years will inevitably feature many more such damaging episodes,” the editorial board wrote on Sunday. “Republicans who continue to go along for the ride with Mr. Trump are teeing themselves up for disaster in 2024.”
Trump, who formally entered the 2024 presidential race earlier this month, has acknowledged the dinner took place last Tuesday at Mar-a-Lago but claimed he didn’t know Fuentes, saying Ye brought him to the estate. Fuentes has denied the Holocaust occurred and been labeled a white supremacist by the Justice Department.
The former president has been criticized by some in the GOP for the dinner, including his former U.S. ambassador to Israel and potential 2024 rivals.
“Worse is that Mr. Trump hasn’t admitted his mistake in hosting the men or distanced himself from the odious views of Mr. Fuentes,” the Journal’s editorial board wrote.
“Instead Mr. Trump portrays himself as an innocent who was taken advantage of by Mr. West,” the piece continued. “This is also all-too-typical of Mr. Trump’s behavior as President. He usually ducked responsibility and never did manage to denounce the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, or others who have resorted to divisive racial politics, or even violence as on Jan. 6, 2021.”
Ye’s meeting with the former president comes after the rapper made a series of antisemitic comments that have led multiple brands, including Adidas, to drop their partnerships with him.
Twitter and Instagram restricted Ye after the comments, including one tweet in which he said he would go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” Ye has since returned to Twitter.
“Mr. Trump’s failure to vet visitors is an example of his usual lack of organization and discipline, especially given that Mr. West has also been spreading anti-Semitic conspiracy theories,” the Journal’s editors wrote.
The editorial is the latest from a Rupert Murdoch-owned outlet to speak out against the former president.
There have been signs of a shift away from Trump at Fox News and the New York Post, both of which gave Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) glowing coverage after his sweeping reelection victory.