President Donald Trump’s remark referring to El Salvador, Haiti and all of the countries in Africa as a “s**thole” is being met, unsurprisingly, with widespread backlash.
Trump’s remark, made during a Thursday meeting with lawmakers from both parties to discuss overhauling America’s immigration system, blasted El Salvador, Haiti and the nations of Africa.
“Why are we having all these people from sh**hole countries come here?” Trump asked the lawmakers, then responding that America should instead have more immigrants from nations like Norway, whose prime minister he had met with on Wednesday.
He later added, “Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out.”
Trump’s remarks have already been greeted with horror throughout the international community.
“There is no other word one can use but racist. You cannot dismiss entire countries and continents as ‘shitholes’, whose entire populations, who are not white, are therefore not welcome,” Rupert Colville, the United Nations’ human rights spokesman, told reporters during a Geneva news briefing.
Botswana, an African nation, denounced Trump’s comment as “highly irresponsible, reprehensible and racist.” A spokeswoman for the African Union, Ebba Kalondo, stated: “given the historical reality of how many Africans arrived in the United States as slaves, this statement flies in the face of all accepted behavior and practice. This is particularly surprising as the United States of America remains a global example of how migration gave birth to a nation built on strong values of diversity and opportunity.”
“In the spirit of the people of Haiti we feel in the statements, if they were made, the president was either misinformed or miseducated about Haiti and its people,” Paul G. Altidor, Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, explained in a statement.
Only a handful of Republican congressmen have denounced Trump’s comment so far — and none of the leaders.
“The (President’s) comments are unkind, divisive, elitist, and fly in the face of our nation’s values. The President must apologize to both the American people and the nations he so wantonly maligned,” Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, stated on Thursday. Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., offered a similar comment on Twitter.
It is completely inappropriate for the President to refer to other countries in the manner in which he reportedly did, especially given the circumstances and disasters that led many TPS immigrants to seek refuge and shelter in the US
— Erik Paulsen (@ErikPaulsen) January 12, 2018
Reps. Carlos Curbelo and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., also took to Twitter to demand that Trump account for his comments.
The men and women who have status under the TPS program are among the most humble and hard working in our country. They improve quality of life in our communities and many Americans depend on them to support family life.
— Carlos Curbelo (@carloslcurbelo) January 11, 2018
Under no circumstances is it acceptable to degrade, denigrate, or dehumanize #TPS immigrants. The White House must immediately explain the situation and leave no doubt regarding what was said and in what context.
— Carlos Curbelo (@carloslcurbelo) January 11, 2018
Moreover delivering a permanent solution for #TPS beneficiaries should be a major component of any #immigration deal.
— Carlos Curbelo (@carloslcurbelo) January 11, 2018
On @WPLGLocal10: @POTUS' bombastic and discriminatory remarks about #Haiti are not only disparaging to many people in my #SoFla district and across our great nation, but they may also put an immigration deal at risk. Our #Dreamers and many others are depending on it pic.twitter.com/8tC5DdpRK1
— Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (@RosLehtinen) January 12, 2018
On Twitter, aside from the stray right-wing conspiracy theorists, the response has been universal disgust — including from staunch Trump supporters like Piers Morgan.
I know @realDonaldTrump doesn’t like apologising but sometimes it’s not just a good idea, it’s absolutely essential.
This is one of those times, Mr President.
Your comment about immigrants from ‘shithole countries’ was outrageous, disgraceful & racist.— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 12, 2018
We’ve reached the point where Fox News has to outright insult white people in order to make Trump look defensible.
I can assure them, even most poor white people don’t openly “sit around a bar” saying Africa is a “shithole” and we should have whites-only immigration.
— Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) January 12, 2018
In light of Trump's "shithole" comments, it should be noted that today is the 8th anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 12, 2018
Why hasn’t @LindseyGrahamSC denounced @realDonaldTrump’s shithole comment? He was in the room when it was said!… https://t.co/ZtQangtrk6
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) January 12, 2018
So @TuckerCarlson and @RichLowry defend @realDonaldTrump’s “shithole” remarks by trying to flip the discussion to the state of the countries. That IS NOT the primary issue. It’s that he doesn’t want those people in America. Don’t chase the rabbit down their hole. 1/
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) January 12, 2018
See, @RichLowry and @TuckerCarlson WANT you to fall for the okey doke. They want you to debate how bad these countries are with civil war, strife, poverty and education. But @realDonaldTrump doesn’t want them anywhere near the U.S. THAT is the real story.
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) January 12, 2018
Why hasn’t @LindseyGrahamSC denounced @realDonaldTrump’s shithole comment? He was in the room when it was said! NOTHING from @SpeakerRyan @SenateMajLdr McConnell or @JohnCornyn and @GOPLeader McCarthy. They are gutless. They’ll defend his bigotry with their silence.
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) January 12, 2018
But there were defenders of Trump. First were the people who wanted to point out that what Trump said was actually true.
Option A: El Salvador isn't a "shithole," so they don't need 17 years of Temporary Protected Status, and migrants from there should be sent home immediately. Option B: El Salvador is, in fact, a "shithole." https://t.co/sea1sKoY8K
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) January 11, 2018
Don Lemon doesn’t appear to know the difference between race and nationality. There are shithole countries everywhere, on every continent. It’s a fact.
Another hysterical, moralising lecture from CNN’s idiot in chief.
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) January 12, 2018
Meanwhile, Fox News tried to claim that Trump’s comments — those of America’s chief diplomat — were how the “forgotten men and women of America talk at the bar.” Shades of the “locker room talk” defense of Trump after the “Access Hollywood” tapes were released.
On Friday, Trump took to Twitter to defend himself, insisting that he had used “tough language” but said he didn’t use the phrase “s**thole.”
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
