Trump declares ‘I am not racist’ as explanation of slur demanded
● South Africa to speak to diplomat ● Republicans back US president
Donald Trump has renewed his defence against accusations that he is racist, this time after recent disparaging comments about Haiti and African nations.
The US president has denied making the statements attributed to him after being accused of using the word “shithole” to describe African countries during an immigration meeting last Thursday with a bipartisan group of six senators.
“No, No. I’m not a racist,” Mr Trump said. “I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you.”
Mr Trump added in reference to lawmakers who were meeting with him in the Oval Office: “Did you see what various senators in the room said about my comments? They weren’t made.” The president is also reported to have questioned the need to admit more Haitians to the US. He allegedly said in the meeting that he would prefer immigrants from countries like Norway instead.
Mr Trump defended himself as South Africa yesterday summoned the senior US diplomat in the capital Pretoria over the disparaging comments.
The White House has not denied that Mr Trump said “shithole”, though the president has already pushed back on some depictions of the meeting. A confidant of Mr Trump said the president spent Thursday evening calling friends and outside advisers to judge their reaction to his remarks.
Mr Trump was not apologetic and denied he was racist, instead blaming the media for distorting his meaning, according to the confidant.
Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the only Democrat at Thursday’s meeting, said Mr Trump had indeed said what he was reported to have said.
Mr Durbin said the remarks were “vile, hate-filled and clearly racial in their content”. He said the president used the most vulgar term “more than once”.
Mr trump commented as mr Durbin was presenting details of a compromise immigration plan that included providing $1.6 billion (£1.16bn) for a first instalment of the president’s long-sought border wall.
Mr Trump took particular issue with the idea that people who fled to the US after disasters hit their homes in places such as El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti would be allowed to stay as part of the deal.
Republican senators David Perdue of Georgia and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who also attended the meeting, initially said in a statement on Friday they “do not recall the president saying these comments specifically”. On Sunday, they backtracked and challenged other senators’ descriptions of the remarks.
Mr Perdue described as a “gross misrepresentation” reports that Mr Trump used the vulgarity. He said Mr and Republican senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina were mistaken in indicating that was the case. Mr Graham also attended the meeting.
“I am telling you that he did not use that word. And I’m telling you it’s a gross misrepresentation,” Mr Perdue said on ABC’S This Week.
South Africa’s foreign ministry said in a statement it planned to call on the US Chargé d’affaires to provide an opportunity “to explain the statement that African countries constitute ‘shitholes’ from where migrants into the United States are undesirable”.
“Relations between South Africa and the United States, and between the rest of Africa and the United States, must be based on mutual respect and understanding,” the statement from South Africa’s department of international relations and co-operation said.
Mr Trump’s comments were met with widespread consternation in Africa. An African Union spokeswoman said the body was “frankly alarmed”.