Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu gently criticizes Trump for meeting Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu gently criticized former President Donald Trump for meeting with Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.

The usually blunt Netanyahu uncharacteristically pulled his punches when asked about the dinner Trump hosted last week that included Fuentes, who regularly spews antisemitic hatred.

“Trump’s decision to dine with this person … is wrong and misplaced. I think it’s a mistake. He shouldn’t do that,” Netanyahu said in an interview with right-wing Jewish journalist Bari Weiss.

Netanyahu, who has been appointed to become Israel’s next prime minister to cap a remarkable comeback, went on to heap praise on Trump for his staunch support of the Jewish state during four years in the White House.

“So I think [Trump] made a mistake,” Netanyahu added. “I hope it’s not repeated.”

Netanyahu and Trump are close right-wing allies although they have had their moments of discord, like when Netanyahu congratulated President Biden for beating Trump in the 2020 election.

Netanyahu’s kid-glove treatment of Trump mirrors the reaction of most Republican leaders in the U.S. and prominent GOP Jews.

Although some GOP senators have had harsh words for the former president, New York’s newly elected Republican members of congress refused to condemn Trump by name.

The Republican Jewish Committee similarly trashed Fuentes without mentioning Trump.

Trump met with Fuentes last week at his Mar-a-Lago resort club along with rapper Kanye West, who has been dumped by major brands for his numerous antisemitic remarks.

The former president has refused to apologize for the sit-down, claiming he is not responsible because he didn’t know Fuentes and neither Fuentes nor West made any hateful remarks to his face at the dinner.

Trump reportedly was impressed with Fuentes, especially when the far right-wing firebrand told him to speak off the cuff and avoid scripted speeches like his recent low-energy 2024 presidential campaign launch announcement.