In a wide-ranging interview with the NYT, US president claims he is probably the least antisemitic person in the world and says he does not know who Nick Fuentes is

US President Donald Trump said there is no room in his MAGA movement or the Republican Party for antisemites.

In a wide-ranging two-hour interview with The New York Times, whose full transcript was published on Sunday, Trump was asked about leading conservative figures who have espoused antisemitic views and their place in the Republican Party and Make America Great Again movement.

“I think we don’t need them. I think we don’t like them,” Trump responded.

Asked if he condemns those in the conservative movement who have been espousing antisemitic views, Trump said, “certainly.”

“If you talk about the antisemitic views, there’s been nobody better for us. As an example, I just got the Israel award, which is the biggest award they give. It was just given to me. First time it was ever given to anybody outside of Israel,” he said.

“There has been no better president in the history of the world as we know it that has been stronger or better and less antisemitic, certainly, than Donald Trump,” Trump continued, referring to himself in the third person.

“I have been the best president of the United States in the history of this country toward Israel. And that’s, by the way, acknowledged by everybody, including the fact that we have peace in the Middle East, and that’s going to hold.”

Asked if he would condemn the far-right shock-jock and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, Trump said he does not know who he is. One of the interviewers reminded him that he dined with Fuentes along with Kanye West in 2022.

“I had dinner with him, one time, where he came as a guest of Kanye West. I didn’t know who he was bringing. He said, ‘Do you mind if I bring a friend?’ I said, ‘I don’t care.’ And it was Nick Fuentes? I don’t know Nick Fuentes.”

West, a world-famous rapper, began issuing antisemitic tirades on social media and in other forums in 2022, vowing to go “death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE” and making a stream of other anti-Jewish remarks. The invective has badly damaged his career, including Adidas cutting off its partnership with Ye in 2022.

His antisemitic vitriol has since surfaced intermittently. In February, he aired a Super Bowl ad for a website selling a swastika T-shirt, and then, in May, released a song called “Heil Hitler,” featuring a recording of the Nazi leader, that garnered millions of views on social media.

In November, he met with a prominent rabbi to apologize for his antisemitic behavior, attributing it to his bipolar disorder.

The Times reporters also pressed Trump on Paul Ingrassia, who he appointed deputy general counsel of the General Services Administration, even after a series of his offensive text messages, including one expressing sympathy for Nazism, were made public.

“I don’t know that. It’s possible. I have thousands of people working here,” Trump said.

“I have a daughter who’s married to a Jewish person. My daughter happens to be Jewish, beautiful, three grandchildren are Jewish. I’m very proud of them. I’m very proud of that whole family. I am the least antisemitic person probably there is anywhere in the world,” he added, referring to his daughter Ivanka who is married to Jared Kushner.

A poll in May found that half of US Jews believe Trump to be antisemitic.

Since his return to office, Trump’s administration has taken a number of high-profile actions with the stated goal of fighting antisemitism, including pulling billions of dollars in funding from universities and seeking to deport foreign student anti-Israel activists.

The poll found that only a fraction of respondents thought those actions reduce antisemitism, while a much larger share said the actions increase antisemitism.

Jacob Magid, Times of Israel