La Grange Area Racist Dines With Trump

LA GRANGE, IL – Nicholas Fuentes, an admitted racist and former Lyons Township High School student body president, met with former President Donald Trump last week, media reported over the weekend.

Fuentes went along as a guest of rapper Kanye West to Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. West, now known as Ye, recently made antisemitic comments.

Politico first reported seeing Fuentes at Trump's club.

Initially, Trump's allies denied Fuentes met with the former president. Later, it was disclosed that Trump dined with the white nationalist.

Trump, who is seeking re-election, is now saying he did not know about Fuentes before meeting him.

Trump's statements about Fuentes have not included a denunciation of Fuentes' racist views.

Fuentes has attracted national attention in recent years. He first made headlines with his participation in the "Unite the Right" white nationalist rally in 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In a video, Ye said Trump was "really impressed" with Fuentes.

In a podcast last year, Fuentes said Trump was "awesome" because he was racist and sexist. But he lamented Trump was not antisemitic.

Fuentes also has entered the realm of Holocaust denial — a favorite of white supremacists. He is on video comparing the Nazi killing of millions of Jews with cookie-baking.

As of last year, Fuentes was still registered to vote in La Grange Park.

Both conservatives and liberals have criticized Patch's coverage of Fuentes. Conservatives contend the stories imply that Fuentes and Trump are allies. They say Trump does not even know Fuentes. And they further argue that Patch should cover the racism they say is displayed by liberals.

Some liberals, meanwhile, say Patch should not shine the spotlight on someone who holds such racist views.

Fuentes was the student body president at Lyons Township High School in 2016.