US President Donald Trump has apparently shrugged off his reported remarks referring to African states, tweeting that “this was not the language used.” Trump’s alleged statement drew international condemnation.
Trump expressed his discontent with the influx of immigrants coming from Haiti, El Salvador and some African countries at a meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday, according to American media. The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Trump had asked: “Why are we having all these people from s***hole countries come here?”
“The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used,” Trump said in a series of tweets on Friday, adding that he wanted a “merit-based system of immigration” and “security” for Americans.
The US president later insisted that he “never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country.” Trump is also considering an idea to record all of his future meetings in order to prevent any speculation surrounding his remarks.
Apart from the angry reaction of officials, social media users also immediately launched an avalanche of criticism towards Trump.
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The reports have triggered a strong reaction from the UN, with its High Commissioner for Human Rights calling the statement “racist” on Friday. At the same time the Haitian government has summoned a US official to explain the president’s behavior.
Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin told reporters in a video that he personally heard that Trump used "those words advisedly."