President Donald Trump reportedly asked why so many people from “s***hole countries” like El Salvador, Haiti and specific African nations come to the US. The resulting outrage could wreck bipartisan immigration reform.
Trump reportedly became furious during a meeting at the White House Thursday when Senators Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) proposed restoring protections for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and some African countries as part of a bipartisan immigration deal, according to the Washington Post.
The group of senators reportedly agreed to cut the visa lottery program by 50 percent and restore Temporary Protected Status to immigrants from countries facing natural disasters or civil strife.
“Why are we having all these people from s***hole countries come here?” Trump said, according to the Post. He reportedly suggested the US should take in more immigrants from countries like Norway instead.
The US president apparently denied making the reported “s***hole countries” remark in a subsequent tweet. “The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used,” Trump wrote. “What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made - a big setback for DACA!”
Many social media users immediately condemned Trump’s comments as racist, including several Democratic lawmakers.
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) went on MSNBC to say Trump’s comments “smack of blatant racism – odious and insidious racism masquerading poorly as immigration policy.”
“He does not speak for me as an American,” Blumenthal added.
Rep. Mia Love (D-Utah), who was born to Haitian parents, said Trump’s comments were “unkind, divisive, elitist and fly in the face of our nation’s values.”
“My parents came from one of those countries, took an oath of allegiance to it, and took on the responsibilities of everything that being a citizen comes with,” Love said in a statement.
The Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-Louisiana) said Trump’s comments were “further proof that his Make America Great Again agenda is really a Make America White Again agenda.”
Author Philip Mudd, ex-deputy director of the CIA’s Counter-terrorist Center and the FBI’s National Security Branch, went on CNN Thursday to denounce Trump’s remarks as racist, calling himself a “proud s***holer.”
A number of celebrities branded Trump “President s***hole,” or some variation on this theme.
Journalist and author Dan Rather expressed a similar sentiment without resorting to foul language, calling Trump’s comments “disgraceful for him, the country, and every American.”
Many were offended at Trump’s choice of words. Some are concerned their children will pick up the president’s vocabulary. MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell advised parents to teach their children the word “s***hole,” so they could explain what the president was talking about.
“It’s not going to be easy but this is what parenting is about in the age of Trump,” O’Donnell said.
Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, told CNN that Trump used the term “s***house,” however, most reports confirmed Trump said “s***hole.”
However, many on the political right were not upset by Trump’s comments at all. In fact, many staffers at the White House reportedly celebrated on Thursday.
CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins said the White House is not worried about Trump’s comments, adding that some are “predicting it will actually resonate with his base, not alienate it, much like his attacks on NFL players who kneel during the national anthem did.”
Right-wing activist Mike Cernovich responded to Collins’ tweet, simply saying “can confirm.”
Many on the right agreed the countries that Trump was talking about were in fact “s***holes.” Many of them also agree that Trump should limit the number of people that come to the US from these countries.
While many Republicans were celebrating Trump’s comments, Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said he looks forward to receiving “a more detailed explanation regarding the President’s comments.”
“Part of what makes America so special is that we welcome the best and brightest in the world, regardless of their country of origin,” Hatch said, according to a tweet from his office.