jivo Trump appears to deny using vulgar term to describe immigrant countries after backlash - Tremendous

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Friday 12 January 2018

Trump appears to deny using vulgar term to describe immigrant countries after backlash

WASHINGTON – After international backlash, President Trump appeared Friday to deny using a vulgar term to describe Haiti, El Salvador and African countries, and instead sought to put the redirect the focus on what he called unacceptable Democratic proposals on immigration.
"The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used," Trump tweeted. "What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made - a big setback for DACA!"

The attempt to clarify came after The Washington Post reported that Trump questioned in a meeting with lawmakers on Thursday why the U.S. would accept immigrants from "shithole countries" like Haiti or in Africa rather than in places like Norway. Trump had met the previous day with the prime minister of Norway.
"Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" Trump reportedly told lawmakers during negotiations over DACA: Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program designed to block deportation of young people brought to the United States illegally by their parents.
In a subsequent tweet, Trump denied saying anything derogatory of Haiti in particular. "Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country," he said, and suggested he would record future meetings.
Trump has threatened to kill the DACA program unless Democrats agree to a host of new security measures designed to block illegal immigration, including a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. 
More: ‘Sh**hole countries,’ UN respond to Trump's ‘Sh**hole countries’ comments
More: Report: Trump uses crude term while attacking protections for immigrants
More: 'Divisive,' 'elitist,' 'racist': Reactions to Trump's immigration comments
Yet upcoming negotiations between the White House and Congress on immigration are likely to be shadowed by the reported presidential comments, which some lawmakers and human rights officials denounced as racist. 
"The President’s statement is shameful, abhorrent, unpresidental, and deserves our strongest condemnation," said Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-N.M., chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. "We must use our voices to ensure that our nation never returns to the days when ignorance, prejudice, and racism dictated our decision making."
Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, a daughter of Haitian immigrants, demanded Trump apologize, calling his comments "unkind, divisive, (and) elitist," and that they "fly in the face of our nation’s values."
The government of Haiti has demanded that U.S. officials provide an explanation of the president's remarks.
Rupert Colville, a human rights spokesman for the United Nations, said: "If confirmed, these are shocking and shameful comments from the president of the United States, I'm sorry but there is no other word for this but racist."
During his Friday tweet storm, Trump also rejected a bipartisan congressional proposal on DACA, saying it lacked funding for the U.S.-Mexico wall and did not end programs like "chain migration."
While some Republicans supported the proposed compromise, Trump put the blame on Democrats.
Saying he wanted a "merit based" immigration system that blocks drug dealers and criminals, Trump said the bipartisan proposal would somehow force the United States to "take large numbers of people from high crime countries which are doing badly."
Democrats said Trump's goal, reflected in his alleged comment, is to allow immigration from predominantly white countries and block it from predominately black and brown countries.
Some congressional Democrats have threatened to block a new government spending plan unless the DACA program for young people is addressed, risking a government shutdown that also drew Trump's ire.
"Sadly, Democrats want to stop paying our troops and government workers in order to give a sweetheart deal, not a fair deal, for DACA," Trump tweeted. "Take care of our Military, and our Country, FIRST!"
If it happens, a government shutdown would not cut off funding for troops or military operations; only non-essential personnel would be affected.

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