On Sunday evening, Donald Trump found himself in the spotlight once again, this time for his reaction to a reporter who questioned his defense of Tucker Carlson after a contentious interview with Nick Fuentes. The interview, which aired in October, featured Carlson and Fuentes discussing US-Israel relations and quickly attracted attention for Fuentes’ reputation for anti-Semitic comments, including jokes about the Holocaust. The conversation has since amassed over 18 million views on X, sparking backlash and leading Republican leaders to criticize Carlson for giving Fuentes a platform.

Despite the controversy, Trump stepped forward to support the former Fox News host. In a surprising twist, he also offered remarks that could be seen as sympathetic towards Fuentes, with whom he had shared a Thanksgiving dinner at Mar-a-Lago back in November 2022. “Well, I found [Tucker] to be good. I mean, he said good things about me over the years. I think he’s good. We’ve had some good interviews,” Trump remarked. However, his comments were disrupted by a reporter’s interjection, prompting Trump to retort, “Will you let me finish my statement? You are the worst! You’re with Bloomberg, right? You are the worst! I don’t know why they even have you.”

Once the interruption subsided, Trump continued to defend Carlson, stating, “You can’t tell him who to interview. I mean, if he wants to interview Nick Fuentes, I don’t know much about him, but if he wants to do it, get the word out. People have to decide. Ultimately, people have to decide.” When pressed further about his previous dinner engagement with Fuentes, Trump explained that he was unaware of Fuentes’ attendance, as he had arrived with rapper Kanye West.

‘Well, I didn’t know he was coming and he was with, as you know, somebody, Kanye. And Kanye asked if he could have dinner and he brought Nick. I didn’t know Nick at the time.’ Trump hosted a Thanksgiving dinner with West and Fuentes amid the rapper’s series of anti-Semitic remarks. At the dinner, West allegedly floated the idea of running for president with Trump serving as a vice presidential nominee. The suggestion by West reportedly led to Trump becoming frustrated by the rapper and the dinner ended shortly after.

Trump added, ‘And he did. He came along with a few other people. He brought a few people with him.’ ‘Meeting people, talking to people like for somebody like Tucker, that’s what they do. You know, people are controversial. Some are, some aren’t. I’m not controversial, so I like it that way.’ Trump’s dinner with Fuentes and West led to widespread condemnation from GOP leaders, including former Vice President Mike Pence who bashed Trump for giving ‘a white nationalist, an anti-Semite and Holocaust denier, a seat at the table.’

Trump defended his decision at the time by claiming he knew ‘nothing about’ Fuentes, but did not disavow him. Fuentes responded to Trump’s new remarks on Sunday evening by thanking the president on X to his 1.1 million followers. ‘Thank you Mr. President!’ he wrote.

Fuentes’ popularity has soared this year and he has been interviewed by some of the most prominent internet media personalities, including Tucker Carlson, Glenn Greenwald and Candace Owens. Carlson’s decision to interview Fuentes sparked a backlash among conservatives over the white nationalist’s anti-Semitism and statements on Israel’s war in Gaza. In the past, Fuentes has been critical of Trump and encouraged his supporters, known as ‘Groypers’, not to support Trump in the 2024 election.

Trump’s defense of Carlson and Fuentes comes after his administration has threatened to pull funding for universities and colleges for allowing pro-Palestinian protests amid the Israel-Hamas war . Carlson has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration’s foreign policy, including over the president’s apparent desire for regime change in Venezuela.