Donald Trump Just Called Haiti, El Salvador And African Nations 'Shithole Countries'
On Thursday, the Washington Post reported that President Donald Trump grew increasingly annoyed during a meeting with bipartisan leaders as they pitched the idea of restoring protections for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as part of their new immigration deal. Instead of listening to the lawmakers, President Trump reportedly said, “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?”
The comments, according to two people briefed on the meeting, left lawmakers in shock. Trump then allegedly suggested that the United States should instead prioritize immigration for people from places like Norway, whose leader he happened to meet with on Wednesday.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment to The Post for their story, but also apparently didn’t deny it. However, this isn’t the first time Trump has faced racist rhetoric allegations. In December, Trump was accused of saying “they all have AIDS” when referring to Haitians and that Nigerians would never “go back to their huts” once they came to the United States. The White House, however, strongly denied the President ever said those words.
At the latest meeting, Trump rejected the plan lawmakers brought to his desk, which would both save DACA, the highly popular program allowing minors brought to the U.S. to stay, work and study legally, and increase border security at the same time.
“There has not been a deal reached yet,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters after the meeting.
According to The Washington Post, the lawmakers presented Trump with a plan to restore the Temporary Protected Status for countries that have been removed, including Haiti and El Salvador, and also adding $1.5 billion for the border wall Trump has been dreaming of since he announced his candidacy.
The clock is surely ticking for leaders to reach an agreement that Trump also approves of. If they do not pass an agreement on government spending, which includes DACA and border security, by Jan. 19 then the United States could face a government shutdown.
“I’m not sure what the next step will be,” Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin told reporters after the meeting. “The President invited us to — at his little get-together in the Cabinet room — to come up with proposals, and we did. It’s a bipartisan proposal which we’ve worked on for four months in the Senate, and I don’t know what happens next.”
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