Trump’s Immigration Slur: An Unpresidential Gaffe
THE ISSUE: Reports that Trump described African and other nations as “s - - thole countries.”
President Trump is right that many countries are awful places to live, wracked by bad government, poor health and low levels of educational attainment. (“Offender in chief ’s slur,” Jan. 12).
But every American immigrant of Haitian or African origin who heard Trump’s comments must have felt like an unwelcome secondclass citizen. Most are decent and hardworking people, trying to make better lives.
Trump is hardly being a “president for all Americans,” which is what he promised on election night. Eric Hagemann Brooklyn
We are force-fed stories every day about people fleeing failed countries rampant with crime, corruption, famine, war and disease.
Yet everyone goes nuts when the president sums up those qualities in one word. Once again a leak from a closed-door meeting is being breathlessly reported as “news.” John Kelly Edison, NJ
On discussing immigration, it’s reported that Trump commented: “Why are we having all these people from s - - thole countries come here?”
Why aren’t more Republicans condemning Trump’s remarks in the strongest terms?
He’s clearly unfit to hold the nation’s highest office. Brenda Nicholls Manhattan
The Never Trump crowd has a new cause for vitriol against the president.
All the news media broke into regular programming to claim that the president made racist remarks about immigrants. Yet President Trump never made a rac-
ist remark, explicitly.
The people who come here do so to escape their oppressive regimes, not because their countries are examples of equality and prosperity. Ann Amadio Yonkers
It’s hard to believe that a president of the United States would use such foul language to describe other countries.
No president in recent memory has been as crude, unfeeling and callous toward people of other nationalities.
People come to this country for safety and a hope for a better life. Most of our parents and grandparents are immigrants. Trump’s words are an insult to these people and to this country. He should apologize.
Trump needs to learn about acceptance and tolerance. Not everyone is born into wealth and opportunity. He lacks humility and compassion. Diane Oriente Springfield, NJ
What a bunch of sanctimonious hypocrites.
True, the president’s remarks regarding certain countries were tactless and impolite, but hardly racist. Obviously he was referring to the countries, not the people who live there.
If you’ve ever visited some of these places as an ordinary traveler, you’d find his description all too accurate. You would certainly not wish to live there. William Fisher Suffern
For Trump to use that type of language is wrong. There is no defense for referring to a country with that derogatory term. Racist? I believe not, but the language is demeaning and terribly offensive.
With that said, CNN has used that vulgar word over and over again while reporting the comment. Repeating it on air to demean Trump is unprofessional. Ron Zajicek Cortlandt Manor
I’m not surprised that a man as crude as Trump called several foreign nations “s - - thole countries,” but it’s still shocking to hear an American president blithely say such a vile thing. Richard Siegelman Plainview
The president’s comment, if it’s true that he made it, was certainly uncouth and unpresidential, but liberals are so fixated on race they only see Haiti and El Salvador as places with brown people.
Those countries have other things in common, like corruption and extreme poverty.
I would imagine the Haitians and El Salvadorans who risk everything to come here would be the first to agree with the president’s description. Gary Taustine Manhattan