McConnell suggests Trump is 'highly unlikely' to win presidential election due to Ye, Fuentes dinner
Donald Trump has received criticism for dining with the rapper once known as Kanye West and white supremacist Nick Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago club.
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U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) speaks to reporters as he returns from a meeting at the White House with President Joe Biden, to the U.S. Capitol in Washington, November 29, 2022.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suggested Tuesday that Donald Trump is "highly unlikely" to regain the presidency as a result of his recent dinner with the rapper now known as Ye and white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
Trump has been condemned for dining with both men, who have espoused anti-Semitic beliefs, at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, last week.
"First, let me just say that there is no room in the Republican Party for anti-Semitism or white supremacy," McConnell, R-Kentucky, told reporters.
"And anyone meeting with people advocating that point of view, in my judgment, are highly unlikely to ever be elected president of the United States," McConnell said.
Asked by a reporter if he would support Trump if Trump won the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, McConnell reiterated his statement about there being no room in the party for anti-Semitism or white supremacy.
"And that would apply to all of the leaders in the party who will be seeking offices," McConnell added.
Trump later fired back at McConnell, telling FoxNews.com, "Mitch is a loser for our nation and for the Republican Party who would not have been re-elected in Kentucky without my endorsement, which he begged me for because he was going down."
Trump, who earlier this month announced his candidacy for the White House, has said he was unaware of who Fuentes was when he arrived with Ye at Mar-a-Lago. Ye was previously known as Kanye West.
Trump told FoxNews.com, "I had never heard of the man," referring to Fuentes.
"had no idea what his views were, and they weren't expressed at the table in our very quick dinner, or it wouldn't have been accepted," Trump said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting Republican Congressional leaders in Washington, D.C.
Joshua Roberts | Reuters
Earlier Tuesday, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California — who aims to become speaker of the House when Republicans regain control in January — criticized Fuentes.
"I condemn his ideology," McCarthy said. "It has no place in society at all."
The California lawmaker later said, "The president can have meetings with who he wants — I don't think anybody, though, should have a meeting with Nick Fuentes."
McCarthy added that Fuentes' views "are nowhere within the Republican Party or within this country itself."
