President Donald Trump on Sunday defended Tucker Carlson’s decision to interview white nationalist Nick Fuentes, saying it’s not his place to tell the conservative commentator whom he can or cannot platform — even as Fuentes’ history of racist and antisemitic statements continues to roil Republicans.

Speaking to reporters on the tarmac in West Palm Beach before returning to Washington, Trump brushed off concerns about Carlson elevating one of the most notorious extremist figures on the right.

“I found him to be good,” Trump said of Carlson. “He said good things about me over the years… we’ve had some great interviews.”

Asked directly whether Carlson should have interviewed Fuentes, Trump did not object.

“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. Let him,” Trump said. “People have to decide. Ultimately, people have to decide.”

Carlson’s interview with Fuentes drew immediate backlash inside the GOP, which has spent years trying — and often failing — to distance itself from Fuentes, who has praised Hitler, trafficked in Holocaust denial, and repeatedly made antisemitic slurs.

Reporters also pressed Trump about his infamous 2022 dinner with Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago. Trump reiterated that the Holocaust-denying activist arrived as a guest of Kanye West.

“I didn’t know Nick at the time,” Trump said. “He came along with a few other people. [West] brought a few people with him… people are controversial. Some are, some aren’t. I’m not controversial.”

Fuentes’ proximity to the GOP’s most influential voices — and Trump’s continued reluctance to condemn him outright — is once again fueling concerns about extremism creeping into the conservative mainstream.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)