In 1996, he was photographed attending a conference held by the French extreme-right Front National leader Jean-Marie Le Pen.
De Wever justified his attendance by arguing that "in a democracy everyone should have the right to express his opinion, even if it's an opinion I detest.
And I always prefer to get my information first hand than to get it in a filtered way."

In October 2007, in reaction to the apology of the Mayor of Antwerp for his city's collaboration in the deportation of Jews during World War II, Bart De Wever said that:
"Antwerp did not organise the deportation of the Jews, it was the victim of Nazi occupation ... Those who were in power at the time had to take tricky decisions in difficult times.
I don't find it very courageous to stigmatise them now."

He later issued an apology to representatives of Antwerp's Jewish community.
Following these events, in an op-ed published in Le Monde, the Belgian French-speaking writer Pierre Mertens claimed that Bart De Wever was a "convinced negationist leader".
De Wever sued Mertens for this allegation.

In July 2016, he called Angela Merkel personally responsible for the "mess she, herself has created" in relation to the 2016 terrorist attacks in Germany.
On the radio channel Radio 1, he 
claimed that Angela Merkel should have led a European military coalition against ISIS/ISIL in 2015, that she was not a true leader, and insinuated that she could have partially prevented the attacks.
De Wever was criticized for this by the leader of the SP.A, John Crombez, who said to be ashamed for the claim that Merkel would be the cause of the "great problems in Europe".
De Wever's remarks were also countered by other Belgian politicians, as well as by a Flemish journalist.
De Wever also claimed that Merkel has caused the rise of Donald Trump, Geert Wilders and Marine Le Pen.
In 1996, he was photographed attending a conference held by the French extreme-right Front National leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. De Wever justified his attendance by arguing that "in a democracy everyone should have the right to express his opinion, even if it's an opinion I detest. And I always prefer to get my information first hand than to get it in a filtered way."
In October 2007, in reaction to the apology of the Mayor of Antwerp for his city's collaboration in the deportation of Jews during World War II, Bart De Wever said that:
"Antwerp did not organise the deportation of the Jews, it was the victim of Nazi occupation ... Those who were in power at the time had to take tricky decisions in difficult times. I don't find it very courageous to stigmatise them now."
He later issued an apology to representatives of Antwerp's Jewish community. Following these events, in an op-ed published in Le Monde, the Belgian French-speaking writer Pierre Mertens claimed that Bart De Wever was a "convinced negationist leader". De Wever sued Mertens for this allegation.
In July 2016, he called Angela Merkel personally responsible for the "mess she, herself has created" in relation to the 2016 terrorist attacks in Germany. On the radio channel Radio 1, he 
claimed that Angela Merkel should have led a European military coalition against ISIS/ISIL in 2015, that she was not a true leader, and insinuated that she could have partially prevented the attacks. De Wever was criticized for this by the leader of the SP.A, John Crombez, who said to be ashamed for the claim that Merkel would be the cause of the "great problems in Europe". De Wever's remarks were also countered by other Belgian politicians, as well as by a Flemish journalist. De Wever also claimed that Merkel has caused the rise of Donald Trump, Geert Wilders and Marine Le Pen.
Bart De Wever