At the close of a week in which top Republicans roundly denounced former President Donald Trump’s dinner with white supremacist Nick Fuentes and increasingly antisemitic rapper Kanye West, now known as Ye, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has notably remained silent.

As of early Friday evening, DeSantis had not weighed in on the stunning meeting, and two spokespeople did not return requests for comment Friday. Instead, DeSantis appeared on Fox News cable host Tucker Carlson’s program and blasted Apple regarding its work in China, and attacked the communist regime there for its false claims about COVID-19 and its handling of growing protests.

The silence from DeSantis might not have drawn as much attention if he wasn’t viewed as Trump’s main competitor for the Republican nomination in 2024. GOP leaders in Congress and former Vice President Mike Pence, among others, condemned the dinner this week, stating that antisemitism and racism don’t belong in the Republican Party.

And the stunning escalation, particularly from Ye, has kept the issue front and center. But DeSantis, who helped build his reputation by appearing regularly on national cable television and inserting himself into national debates, like when he flew migrants in Texas to Massachusetts, seems to be avoiding the issue.

Fuentes, a far-right media figure who rose to prominence during Trump’s time in office, and who has pushed racist theories alleging that minorities are replacing white Americans, gave a nod to DeSantis...

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