Donald Trump reportedly described El Salvador, Haiti and certain African nations as “shithole” countries during a meeting with lawmakers on Thursday, according to a report by The Washington Post. The president made the remark after being presented with a bipartisan proposal to restore protections for immigrants from those countries.
Trump demanded to know why the US would accept immigrants from these countries rather than places like Norway, whose prime minister he had met the day before. The White House did not deny the account, instead highlighting Trump’s hardline immigration stance.
The comments drew swift bipartisan rebuke. Congressman Luis Gutiérrez, a Democrat from Illinois, said: “We always knew that President Trump doesn’t like people from certain countries or people of certain colours. We can now say with 100% confidence that the president is a racist.”
Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah said he looked forward to a more detailed explanation, adding: “Part of what makes America so special is that we welcome the best and brightest in the world, regardless of their country of origin.” Haiti’s ambassador to the US said the government had formally summoned a US official to explain Trump’s comments.
The remarks came amid frantic negotiations on immigration law, including the fate of hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers. Earlier optimism that a bipartisan deal had been reached was quickly deflated by the White House and conservative lawmakers.
