Nick Fuentes (center) with Alex Jones at a "Stop the Steal" rally in Georgia on Nov. 19, 2020. Photo: Zach Roberts/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Former President Trump dined and conversed with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Tuesday night, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

Why it matters: Trump's direct engagement with a man labeled a "white supremacist" by the Justice Department, one week after declaring his 2024 candidacy, is likely to draw renewed outrage over the former president's embrace of extremists.

What they're saying: "Kanye West very much wanted to visit Mar-a-Lago. Our dinner meeting was intended to be Kanye and me only, but he arrived with a guest whom I had never met and knew nothing about," Trump said in a statement.

Bigotry, hate, and antisemitism have absolutely no place in America - including at Mar-A-Lago," White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said Saturday in a statement.

Behind the scenes: A source familiar with the dinner conversation told Axios that Trump "seemed very taken" with Fuentes, impressed that the 24-year-old was able to rattle off statistics and recall speeches dating back to his 2016 campaign.

Fuentes told Trump that he represented a side of Trump's base that was disappointed with his newly cautious approach, especially with what some far-right activists view as a lack of support for those charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Trump at one point turned to Ye and said, "I really like this guy. He gets me," according to the source.

Trump asked if Fuentes was on social media such as Truth Social, the former president's alternative to Twitter.

Driving the news: Ye, whose Twitter account was recently restored after being restricted for anti-Semitic comments, posted a video on Thursday night titled "Mar-a-Lago debrief."

Between the lines: The Daily Beast reported Wednesday that Fuentes was not present at the Mar-a-Lago dinner with Ye, citing a source familiar with the matter.

Flashback: Truth Social, Trump's social media platform, sparked backlash by verifying Fuentes' account in February.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting and a statement from Trump and the White House.

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Trump talks with white nationalist Nick Fuentes at Mar-a-Lago dinner