Speaking to reporters Sunday evening on the tarmac after departing West Palm Beach, President Donald Trump dismissed media outrage over Tucker Carlson’s interview with Nick Fuentes, insisting that conservatives should not police journalists for talking to controversial figures. Trump said it was important to “get the word out” and allow Americans—not political gatekeepers—to judge information for themselves.
When asked what role Carlson should play in the GOP and the conservative movement, Trump praised the former Fox host’s body of work. “I found him to be good,” Trump said, noting that Carlson had “said good things about me over the years.” He also pointed out the massive audience for their past conversations: “We’ve had some good interviews… we were at 300 million hits.”
Trump underscored that independent journalism requires independence—something he believes many in the political class forget. “You can’t tell him who to interview,” Trump said. “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. People have to decide. Ultimately, people have to decide.”
Reporters then revived the media’s long-running fixation on Trump’s 2022 Mar-a-Lago dinner, where Fuentes appeared as an uninvited guest of Kanye West. Trump repeated what he has consistently said: he had no idea Fuentes was attending. “I didn’t know Nick at the time… he came along with a few other people,” Trump explained. West, he said, “brought a few people with him.”
Trump contrasted the media’s obsession with the encounter with the normalcy of public figures meeting many different people. He noted that interacting with a wide range of individuals—controversial or not—is simply part of the job for high-profile figures like Carlson. “Meeting people, talking to people… that’s what they do,” Trump said. “Some are [controversial], some aren’t. I’m not controversial,” he added with a grin.
Fuentes, who has drawn criticism for inflammatory and offensive statements—including his widely condemned remark, “I love Hitler”—has long been used by Trump’s critics to paint the president by association. Trump, however, made clear he will not allow the media to dictate who conservative journalists may or may not speak with, or to define the Republican movement through guilt-by-association tactics.
