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President Donald Trump is denying reports that he referred to Haiti and African countries as ‘shithole’ countries.
“The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made – a big setback for DACA!” the president tweeted on Friday.
The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made – a big setback for DACA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018
–LET’S BE CLEAR: Donald Trump is the REAL shithole–
‘Why do we want all these people from shithole countries?’
In a meeting on immigration on Thursday, President Donald Trump used damning language in reference to immigrants from Africa, Haiti and other “shithole countries.”
“Why do we want all these people from ‘shithole countries’ coming here?” Trump told a bipartisan group of senators in the Oval Office, according to the Washington Post and CNN.
The president’s comment was made during a meeting with six senators hoping to come to a compromise on immigration.
After Sen. Dick Durbin proposed to end the visa lottery in exchange for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for countries like El Salvador, Trump reportedly interrupted him when Durbin got to Haiti.
Trump went on to ask why the US would want more people from Haiti and African countries, rather than countries like Norway. The president also asked if Haiti could be left out of the plan, reports the New York Times, “Why do we want people from Haiti here?”
Immediate backlash
As soon as Trump’s comments were reported, people took the “president” to task.
CNN’s Don Lemon didn’t mince words at all, for example, in his response, saying outright, “The president of the United States is racist.”
He went on to address Trump supporters in particular, saying, “What does it say about you that no matter what, no matter what, you continue to make excuses for this man, for his vile behavior?”
Now, it looks like Trump is trying to walk back the comments, but we’re not going to forget what actually happened.