Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Donald Trump‘s dinner with Kanye West was a “big mistake”.
West met with Trump at the former US President’s Florida estate last November, where the pair were also joined by right-wing political commentator and white supremacist Nick Fuentes. Following the dinner, Trump called West a “seriously troubled man”.
READ MORE: With his “White Lives Matter” stunt, has Kanye West finally hit the point of no return?
“I told him don’t run for office [in 2024], a total waste of time, can’t win,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Fake News went CRAZY!”
Shortly after Ye claimed that he “likes Jewish people again” after watching Jonah Hill in 21 Jump Street, Netanyahu gave an interview to TalkTV’s Piers Morgan Uncensored during which he was asked to share his thoughts on the rapper’s meeting with Trump.
“I thought it was horrible, and I said so. I think it’s a big mistake,” Netanyahu responded.
“It’s wrong from every point of view. It [anti-Semitism] should not be countenanced, it should not be accepted, it should be rebuked and condemned and that’s what I do. And I don’t care where it comes from, or from whom.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Netanyahu said that Trump had congratulated him after he became PM of Israel in December 2022 (he previously held office from 1996 to 1999, and again from 2009 to 2021).
He told Morgan that Trump “did some very good things” for Israel, but denied having “taken sides” with the former POTUS. “I didn’t come in as a Republican or a Democrat; I came in as an Israeli,” Netanyahu explained.
“Joe Biden has been a personal friend for over 40 years, and I’ve disagreed with him. Donald Trump has been a great friend, and I’ve often disagreed with him – not often, but sometimes. And the same happened with other American Presidents.”
You can watch the full interview in the video above.
Donald Trump in January 2023. Credit: Scott Eisen/Getty Images
West’s spate of anti-Semitic comments began when he tweeted that he was going to go “death con 3 [sic] On JEWISH PEOPLE” last October.
He then announced that he was running for President in 2024 in November, as did ex-POTUS Trump. The ‘Donda’ artist initially ran for candidacy in 2020 but conceded his campaign after winning 50,000 votes, while vowing to take a second shot at the race in 2024.
After the dinner at Mar-a-Lago, West confirmed that he’d asked Trump to be his running mate.
The rapper has been widely condemned by many figures in the entertainment world, as well as several political figures and organisations that represent Jewish communities, over his anti-Semitic sentiments. West also walked out of an interview in which he was challenged over his controversial views.
His social media accounts have been suspended on numerous occasions. Additionally, West has lost brand deals with Balenciaga, Adidas and Gap, and had his honorary degree from The School Of The Art Institute Of Chicago rescinded.
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