Trump in deep over ‘vile’ comment
DONALD Trump has been branded a shocking and shameful racist after it was credibly reported he had described African nations, as well as Haiti and El Salvador, as “shitholes” and questioned why so many of their citizens had been permitted to enter America.
US diplomats around the world have been summoned for “please explains” amid outrage that such crude remarks could ever be made in a semi-public meeting by the President.
In a strongly worded statement, the United Nations said it was impossible to describe his remarks as anything but racist, while the Vatican decried Mr Trump’s words as “particularly harsh and offensive”.
Mr Trump initially allowed reported accounts of Thursday’s comments to go unchallenged, but went into damage limitation mode on Friday, insisting he had not used derogatory words – but admitting that the language he had used at a meeting on immigration was “tough”.
But Democratic senator Dick Durbin, who was present at the White House meeting on immigration issues, yesterday insisted that the reports were “entirely accurate”.
“In the course of his comments he said things that were hate-filled, vile and racist ... I cannot believe that in the history of the White House, in that Oval Office, any President has ever spoken the words that I personally heard our President speak,” Senator Durbin said.
“The President started tweeting, denying that he used those words. It is not true. He said these hate-filled things, and he said them repeatedly.”
After being presented with a proposal to restore protections for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and unspecified African countries, Mr Trump re- portedly said: “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?”
He asked to know why the US could not instead accept people from places like Norway.
Mr Trump eventually issued a denial on Twitter, saying: “Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings – unfortunately, no trust!”
Leading the chorus of criticism was UN human rights official Ropert Coleville who said Mr Trump’s comments – if true – were “shocking and shameful”. “You cannot dismiss entire countries and continents as shitholes, whose entire populations who are not white, are therefore not welcome,” Mr Coleville said.
The African Union, a group representing all 55 countries on the continent, said it was “frankly alarmed” by the alleged comments.
“Given the historical reality of how many Africans arrived in the US as slaves, this statement flies in the face of all accepted behaviour,” AU spokeswoman Ebba Kalondo said. “This is particularly surprising as the US remains a global example of how migration gave birth to a nation built on diversity and opportunity.”
Robin Diallo, the US chargé d’affaires to Haiti, was summoned to meet Haitian President Jovenel Moïse to discuss the remarks. The former Haitian president Laurent Lamothe expressed his dismay, saying Mr Trump had shown “a lack of respect and ignorance”.
Across Africa there was fury. Botswana’s government described Mr Trump as “reprehensible and racist” while Uganda’s Minister for International Relations, Henry Okello Oryem, called the remarks “unfortunate and regrettable”.