Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, went on an antisemitic rant during a Thursday appearance on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s Infowars program, including praise for Nazis and Adolf Hitler.
“You’re not Hitler, you’re not a Nazi, you don’t deserve to be called that and demonized,” Jones told Ye, who was appearing on his program along with white nationalist Nick Fuentes, who made headlines when he accompanied Ye to a dinner at Mar-a-Lago with former President Trump last week.
“Well, I see good things about Hitler also. I love everyone,” Ye said in response while wearing a fully hooded mask on the set of Jones’s show. “And Jewish people are not going to tell me you can love us, and you can love what we’re doing to you with the contracts, and and you can love what we’re pushing with the pornography” while also condemning Hitler, he added, saying “you can’t say out loud that this person ever did anything good, and I’m done with that.”
“Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler,” Ye continued. “Also Hitler was born Christian.”
As the show headed to a commercial break, Jones told Ye he had a “Hitler fetish,” to which Ye responded, “I like Hitler.”
Ye has seen public backlash for weeks with his repeated comments criticizing Jewish people and falsely claiming a cabal of elite Jewish power brokers control the media, Hollywood and politics.
His comments have caused major brands long associated with his music, fashion line and businesses to cut ties with him, moves he has said cost him hundreds of millions of dollars.
Ye also said he does “not like the word evil next to Nazis” after Jones pushed back on some of his assertions, saying, “I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.”
Jones laughed in response, saying, “Well, I have to disagree with that.”
Trump, who has gotten pushback from top Republicans over last week’s Mar-a-Lago dinner, has said he was not aware of Fuentes’s views at the time. Ye has praised Trump for years and in 2018 participated in a highly publicized Oval Office meeting with him during which he wore a “Make America Great Again” hat.
Trump last month announced his intent to seek the Republican nomination for president. Ye has also talked about a presidential run and said Trump lost his temper when the rapper asked him to be his 2024 running mate.
“They want to separate and confuse the Christians and make us afraid to stand next to each other,” Ye said during his unhinged tirade on Infowars. “Because Jesus can save everyone, but if the Zionists can get us so afraid that they’re going to do what they’ve been doing to me. … You put on the whole armor of god, and they will not be able to break your spirit.”
As Jones was visibly uncomfortable and Fuentes watched with a grin, Ye pulled out a bottle of Yoo-hoo chocolate drink and a small net he indicated represented Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu, mimicking him in a high-pitched voice saying, “We have to control the history books. We have to control the banks. And we have to go and kill people.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition swiftly condemned Thursday’s interview, calling the gathering of Jones, Ye and Fuentes “a disgusting triumvirate of conspiracy theorists, Holocaust deniers & antisemites.”
“Conservatives who have mistakenly indulged Kanye West must make it clear that he is a pariah,” the group said in a statement. “Enough is enough.”
—Updated at 3:20 p.m.