WASHINGTON (Conspiracy Talk News) – This is what US President Donald Trump told journalists this Sunday, denying accusations of racism against him for allegedly saying that El Salvador, Haiti and African nations were “shithole countries“.
While resting at his Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, his resort in Florida, the president addressed reporters: “I’m not racist.” “I’m the least racist person you’ll interview.”
On Friday, Trump denied having made those controversial statements in a tweet. But this is the first time that the president responds directly to accusations of racism.
What happened?
The dispute erupted last week after reports surfaced in the US media that during a meeting at the White House, Trump had asked: “Why are we having all these people here from” shit-hole “countries? ? .
According to information published Thursday by The Washington Post and the New York Times , cited by anonymous sources, Trump used this language in a meeting with Democratic and Republican senators to analyze a proposal for immigration reform that would benefit citizens of El Salvador, Haiti and African nations.
In recent weeks, the US government has been withdrawing Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to people of various nationalities who currently live in the country.
Trump also allegedly said in that meeting that instead of granting temporary residence to citizens of countries affected by natural disasters, wars or epidemics, the US should receive immigrants from countries like Norway.
According to newspaper reports, when Trump was told that the largest groups of immigrants with that status were from El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti, the president replied: “Haitians? Do we need more Haitians?”
“Full of hate”
On Friday, the president tweeted that the language he used at the meeting was “hard” but questioned the writing of the reports.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018
He also published another tweet in which he denied insulting the Haitians and accusing the Democrats of inventing it.
Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said “take them out.” Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings – unfortunately, no trust!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018
But Senator Dick Durbin said the accusations were true and that Trump had used a language “full of hate, vile and racist” during the meeting.
Several high-ranking Republican lawmakers at the meeting, including National Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, said they do not remember Trump making the comment.
Another Republican senator who was there, Lindsey Graham, did not deny the sayings.
“After the president’s comments, I addressed him directly, and the president and everyone at the meeting knows what I said and how I feel,” she said.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Paul Ryan, said Donald Trump’s immigration statements were “very unfortunate” and “useless.”
When Trump was asked on Sunday if he considered that the comments had made it difficult to obtain an immigration agreement, Trump responded: “Have you seen what several senators said about my comments? They were not facts.”
Reactions
The African Union demanded on Friday that the US president apologise after the alleged sayings, expressing “shock, consternation and indignation” for the “clearly racist” comments .
UN Human Rights Spokesman Rupert Colville said at a press conference in Geneva: “There is no other word that can be used but racist, you can not label entire countries and continents as ‘shit-holes’.”
The National Association for the Advancement of People of Color (NAACP) accused the president of falling “deeper and deeper into the hole of racism and xenophobia.”
Several Democratic representatives said they intend not to attend the president’s State of the Union speech later this month for his statements, accusing the president of racism.
The post “I’m not a racist”: Donald Trump’s defending accusations of discrimination and Racism appeared first on Conspiracy Talk News.
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