Republican Sen. David Perdue (Ga.) on Sunday said President Trump did not use the word “shithole” to refer to some African nations, Haiti, and El Salvador during a White House meeting with lawmakers.
During an interview on ABC’s “Meet the Press,” Perdue said the comment attributed to the president in The Washington Post is a “gross misrepresentation.”
“I’m telling you he did not use that word, George. And I’m telling you it’s a gross misrepresentation. How many times do you want me to say that?” Perdue said after host George Stephanopoulos pressed him for an answer.
Perdue was one of several lawmakers participating in a meeting with Trump last week, when the president reportedly referred to immigrants from African nations, El Salvador and Haiti as coming from “shithole countries.”
“The gross misrepresentation was that language was used in there that was not used and also that the tone of that meeting was not contributory and not constructive,” the Georgia Republican said. – READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [divider][/divider]Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) accused President Donald Trump on Friday of referring to African countries as “s***holes” during a meeting that they both attended on Thursday.
There’s just one problem with Durbin’s claims: He has a history of making up statements from private White House meetings.
In 2013, Politico reported:
“In a ‘negotiation’ meeting with the president, one GOP House Leader told [President Barack Obama]: ‘I cannot even stand to look at you,’” Durbin wrote in a post on his Facebook page over the weekend.
However, both the White House and the House speaker’s office denied Durbin’s account of events.
Asked about the post in the White House daily briefing, press secretary Jay Carney said he checked with a participant of the meeting in question.
“I looked into this and spoke with somebody who was in that meeting and it did not happen,” Carney said. – READ MORE
[give_form id=”79809″] [divider][/divider]Two Republican senators said they did not remember President Donald Trump referring to Haiti and African nations with a vulgar comment, according to a statement they released on Twitter.
My statement with @SenDavidPerdue on yesterday’s meeting at the White House on negotiations to fix the legal immigration system: https://t.co/IsPVboBn6b pic.twitter.com/WHOmEhCQ1i
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) January 12, 2018
“We do not recall the president saying those comments specifically, but what he did call out was the imbalance in our current immigration system, which does not protect American workers and our national interest. We, along with the president, are committed to solving an issue many in Congress have failed to deliver on for decades,” said Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and David Perdue, R-Ga., in the statement. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]President Donald Trump on Friday denied describing certain nations as “shithole countries” during a meeting in which he rejected a bipartisan deal on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
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
“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!” Trump tweeted.
White House spokesperson Raj Shah did not 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.”
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
Trump later tweeted Friday morning that he “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!” – READ MORE