RNA - At a closed-door meeting intended to discuss a way forward on an immigration deal in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump reportedly asked lawmakers, “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" According to several people briefed on the meeting, Trump was referring to Haiti, El Salvador and certain African countries.
Trump denied saying "anything derogatory" about the people of Haiti, and instead blamed the media for distorting his words. He said that his description of "shithole" was not racist but rather a straightforward assessment of some nations' depressed conditions.
His remarks, however, drew harsh criticism from some African nations. Haiti summoned the top American diplomat there and Botswana summoned the US top envoy on Friday over the president's inflammatory remarks.
The US State Department said American diplomats in Haiti and Botswana had been briefed to convey Washington's respect if summoned to explain themselves.
Haitians living in Miami, Florida, also expressed their anger about Trump's disparaging comments, when they gathered to mark the 8th anniversary of a massive earthquake, which killed more than 300,000 people by some estimates and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes in Haiti.
The African Union also described Trump's racist remarks as “upsetting." The union’s spokeswoman Ebba Kalondo said Trump's comments were alarming and surprising, particularly "given that so many Africans arrived in the US as slaves."
Trump under fire at home
The US president’s racist remarks also drew criticism inside the country on Friday. His Democratic opponent in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton, reprimanded his “ignorant, racist views” in a Friday tweet.
Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders also accused Trump of “racist ramblings.”
US Representative for Illinois John Lewis said on Friday that racism “must be in his [Trump’s] DNA.”
His contentious remarks also drew criticism from the media with a CNN host who declared Trump as a racist. “The president of the United States is racist,” Don Lemon proclaimed. “A lot of us already knew that.”
Trump's remarks have also sparked outrage in Mexico, where former President Vicente Fox wrote in a Tweet that Trump’s “mouth is the foulest shithole in the world.”
“With what authority do you proclaim who’s welcome in America and who’s not. America’s greatness is built on diversity, or have you forgotten your immigrant background, Donald?” he wrote.
Trump’s remarks sparked reaction from politicians on the other side of the world. Former UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the Trump administration is "leading a race to the bottom on refugees and immigrants that is a betrayal of America's future as well as of its history."
Less than a month ago, Trump reportedly said people from Haiti “all have AIDS” and those from Nigeria who immigrated to America would never “go back to their huts.”
The White House, however, claimed the president did not make such statements.
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