President Donald Trump: Shithole slur ‘not the language used’

January 12, 2018
Report Focus News
epaselect epa06300134 US President Donald J. Trump attends a meeting on tax policy with business leaders in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 31 October 2017. EPA-EFE/MICHAEL REYNOLDS

Donald Trump has responded to criticism about his alleged use of the word “shithole” to describe migrant countries, saying “this was not the language used”.

The US President had asked why America should allow more people from “shithole countries” during a meeting with legislators about a proposed bipartisan deal on immigration.

Sources briefed on the conversation said Mr Trump questioned why the US would want to admit more people from Haiti and Africa, adding: “We should have more people from Norway”.

The President tweeted on Friday after his comments drew criticism from the UN and other countries.

“The so-called bipartisan DACA deal presented yesterday to myself and a group of Republican Senators and Congressmen was a big step backwards,” he said.

“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!”

He blamed the Democrats, saying the immigration policy DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, has taken a “big step backwards” because of the Democrats “not being interested in life and safety”.

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