This morning Trump denies describing certain nations as “shithole countries” during a meeting in which he rejected a bipartisan deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program yesterday. Trump tweeted.
“The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made – a big setback for DACA!”
But Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, said today that the president did use the term “shithole,” repeatedly, during the course of the meeting on immigration — which Mr. Durbin attended. The senator described Trump as saying
“things which were hate-filled, vile and racist.”
And White House spokesperson Raj Shah didn’t deny the “shithole” remark on Thursday evening, but instead said in a statement that Trump
“is fighting for permanent solutions that make our country stronger by welcoming those who can contribute to our society, grow our economy and assimilate into our great nation.”
Trump on Thursday rejected a pitch from a bipartisan team of senators on a compromise immigration deal to protect DACA participants while increasing border security. Trump asked senators in the Oval Office, according to a source briefed on the meeting.
“Why do we want all these people from ‘shithole countries’ coming here?”
The Washington Post first reported on Trump’s comments. Trump’s denial came among a series of other tweets in which he defended his immigration stance. Trump tweeted.
“The so-called bipartisan DACA deal presented yesterday to myself and a group of Republican Senators and Congressmen was a big step backwards. Wall was not properly funded, Chain & Lottery were made worse and USA would be forced to take large numbers of people from high crime…..
…countries which are doing badly. I want a merit based system of immigration and people who will help take our country to the next level. I want safety and security for our people. I want to stop the massive inflow of drugs. I want to fund our military, not do a Dem defund….
….Because of the Democrats not being interested in life and safety, DACA has now taken a big step backwards. The Dems will threaten ‘shutdown,’ but what they are really doing is shutting down our military, at a time we need it most. Get smart, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
Sadly, Democrats want to stop paying our troops and government workers in order to give a sweetheart deal, not a fair deal, for DACA. Take care of our Military, and our Country, FIRST!”
The tweets suggest that Trump is interested in a system that would only accept individuals from certain countries and backgrounds in exchange for a DACA deal –plus a more substantial border investment than the lawmakers had presented.
Democrats have made clear they would NOT consider some of the suggestions while some Republicans hope to gain leverage by dragging out negotiations and reject any deal that benefits DACA immigrants.
The Daily News is running the perfect cover today that illustrates what kind of POTUS we have and I would apologize for the gross gif below, except that it is now impossible to go lower than Trump. We now live in a country where the President calls countries with black and brown people “shitholes” and this is repeated on every TV news program, website and newspaper around the world. How sad for America. I would agree with satirist Andy Borowitz,
“The bar has now been lowered into a shithole.”
