Dinner Goes South

Donald Trump loves to entertain at his residence in Florida. The rich and famous are people with whom the ex-president loves to rub shoulders and let’s not forget, play golf. Normally, someone in Trump’s position know beforehand who he will be associating with before he hosts his guests at his Florida home. I think we all do that. The “old folks” used to tell us that one shouldn’t “have just anybody” showing up at our homes. The same is equally true in today’s climate. So, imagine Mr. Trump allowing rapper Kanye West to have dinner with him, as Trump being president, had West at the white House on several occasions. West who now is legally known as Ye, decided to bring a guest with him who like Ye, has become a controversial and polarizing figure in America before of his views on race. Nick Fuentes is the individual who has said publicly that the Holocaust “probably” didn’t happen, which is an insensitive affront to the Jewish people. There’s more. He has also said that the “era of Jim Crow” with the racial segregation and violence against Black people was “better” for them, according to leading media outlets. So, how could an individual who has been president, that had people when setting up meetings with Trump, not know who was coming to dinner? Even without White House aides, a billionaire like Trump would have someone in charge of knowing who the guests are coming to his residence. Right? Remember the movie “Guess Who’s Coming To dinner”, where the white couple didn’t know that there daughter was bringing a Black man (Sidney Poitier” to dinner? Well now that Trump is facing intense criticism for having dinner with two individuals, one who has anti-Semitic views (West) and nothing good to say about Black people (Fuentes), is one Trump probably would like to have cancelled. The dinner according to media reports, did not go well. At least in the movie, the white couple who were living in California did appear to be sympathetic to Sidney, trying to make the best of an awkward situation. Trump now is claiming that “he didn’t know” who Fuentes was, that he was brought there by Ye or that it was “a mistake” even for Fuentes to be there.

Trump couldn’t claim that he didn’t know Ye, but he made sure to throw him under the bus. Trump allegedly said that he was trying to “help a seriously troubled man, who just happened to be Black. Next, Trump will say that he didn’t know Ye was black. Trump went on to say that Ye was there so he could give him some business advice because Ye’s empire has been crumbling lately because of his anti-Semitic views and will probably get worse if he keeps hanging around people like Fuentes. Perhaps Trump was thinking about what the implications would be after hosting at least two individuals that are not supposed to be representatives of mainstream Republican views and how it would affect Trump now that he has declared a 2024 presidential run. It doesn’t look good for Republicans in Congress who are Trump supporters because now they must condemn the dinner in words that sound like they mean them. Give credit to LA Sen. Bill Cassidy for being the first Republican senator to denounce Trump’s meeting, saying “President Trump hosting racist antisemites for dinner encourages other racists whose attitudes are immoral and should not be entertained” Susan Collins would follow Cassidy saying, that she “condemns” white supremacy, the president “never should have had that meal”. When will they stop referring to Trump as “the president”? He is not.

Trump will portray himself as the innocent victim, but this is not the first time he didn’t denounce views such as those of West and Fuentes. When Charlottesville was the scene of a violent confrontation between those who espoused white supremacy and those against it, Donald Trump said that there “were fine people” on both sides of the confrontation. Trump was criticized for not denouncing white supremacy and he has only paid lip service on racial matters. It would appear that he, Ye and Fuentes may have something in common. The dinner didn’t go as planned because no one saw past that evening until it was too late. Sooner or later, Trump will have to throw Ye under another bus despite their relationship and as for Fuentes, he will probably speak in coded language. Fox News doesn’t appear to want to be sympathetic to Trump, perhaps signaling that it is time for them to go their separate ways. Over the years, both have benefitted from each other. Just as Fox has gone on since Murdoch’s reign at the network, they are sending Trump the message that he is not needed like he used to be. Watch who you invite to dinner. Remember, the world is watching is watching. So is God.