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'I am not racist,' Trump says, after 'shithole' nations remark fallout Trump insists 'I am the least racist person' as outrage over remarks continues
(about 7 hours later)
President says he is ‘least racist person you’ve ever interviewed’ as he denies making comment The US president was condemned by the United Nations and the African Union after reports he referred to certain nations as ‘shitholes’
Kevin Rawlinson and agencies David Smith in Washington and
Mon 15 Jan 2018 10.49 GMT Kevin Rawlinson in London
Mon 15 Jan 2018 17.31 GMT
First published on Mon 15 Jan 2018 02.11 GMTFirst published on Mon 15 Jan 2018 02.11 GMT
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Donald Trump has insisted he is not racist following an international outcry over an offensive comment he is accused of making about some African, central American and Caribbean countries. Donald Trump has defended himself amid international outrage over offensive comments he is accused of making about some African, Central American and Caribbean countries, insisting: “I am not a racist.”
The US president was criticised by the UN and the African Union (AU) after it was credibly reported that he had referred to Haiti, El Salvador and nations in Africa as “shithole countries” during an Oval Office meeting on Thursday. The US president was condemned by the United Nations and the African Union (AU) after it was reported that he had referred to Haiti, El Salvador and nations in Africa as “shithole countries” during a White House meeting last week.
Trump defended himself on Sunday, telling reporters “I am not a racist” as he arrived for dinner at his private golf club with the House majority leader, Kevin McCarthy. As Trump headed to dinner at his golf club in Florida on Sunday, he was confronted by a reporter: “What do you say to people who say you’re a racist?”
“I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you,” he said. The president said: “No, no, I’m not a racist. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed, that I can tell you.”
Trump was at his golf course on Monday as the US marked Martin Luther King Jr Day. The president retweeted a video of his weekly address, with words including: “Dr King’s dream is our dream. It is the American Dream.”
But his alleged comments continued to reverberate. On Sunday, congressman John Lewis, who marched with King for voting rights in Selma, Alabama in 1965, told ABC: “I think he is a racist …
“I don’t think there’s any way that you can square what the president said with the words of Martin Luther King Jr and what he said about Dr King. It’s just impossible. There’s not any way you can do that. It’s unreal. It’s unbelievable. It makes me sad. It makes me cry.”
DeJuana Thompson, a former African American engagement director at the Democratic National Committee, on Monday described Trump’s reported outburst as “a slap in the face” to the legacy of King and others who worked for social justice.
Asked if she accepted Trump’s claim that he is not a racist, Thompson said: “I can’t speak to his personal belief system but I think that he believes that and that’s the problem. Even in believing he is not racist, he allows himself to use such damaging language. The responsibility we have to ourselves and our diversity requires that we take the time to think about what we say.”
On Friday, the UN human rights spokesman, Rupert Colville, condemned the “shocking and shameful” comment.On Friday, the UN human rights spokesman, Rupert Colville, condemned the “shocking and shameful” comment.
“You cannot dismiss entire countries and continents as ‘shitholes’ whose entire populations are not white and, therefore, not welcome,” he told reporters at a news briefing in Geneva.
Trump has previously tried to pass a ban on travel to the US from various Muslim-majority countries, which a judge said was a continuation of his “promise to exclude Muslims from the United States”.Trump has previously tried to pass a ban on travel to the US from various Muslim-majority countries, which a judge said was a continuation of his “promise to exclude Muslims from the United States”.
Colville said: “This isn’t just a story about vulgar language. It’s about opening a door to humanity’s worst side. It’s about validating and encouraging racism and xenophobia that will potentially disrupt and even destroy the lives of many people. Colville said: “This isn’t just a story about vulgar language. It’s about opening a door to humanity’s worst side. It’s about validating and encouraging racism and xenophobia that will potentially disrupt and even destroy the lives of many people.”
“And that’s perhaps the single most damaging and dangerous consequence of this type of comment by a major political figure.”
The AU, made up of 55 countries, also condemned the remark and demanded an apology.The AU, made up of 55 countries, also condemned the remark and demanded an apology.
“This is even more hurtful given the historical reality of just how many Africans arrived in the United States as slaves and also terribly surprising, as the United States remains a massively positive example as just how migration can give birth to a nation,” said a spokeswoman for the union’s chair.“This is even more hurtful given the historical reality of just how many Africans arrived in the United States as slaves and also terribly surprising, as the United States remains a massively positive example as just how migration can give birth to a nation,” said a spokeswoman for the union’s chair.
Trump has faced claims of racism throughout his adult life. He insisted Barack Obama was not born in the US during his presidency and demanded that his predecessor release his birth certificate to demonstrate otherwise. South Africa summoned America’s senior diplomat in the capital, Pretoria, to seek an explanation.
In 1989, he took out full-page ads in four New York newspapers demanding the return of the death penalty after five black teenagers were arrested over the rape of a woman in Central Park. They were innocent. Trump has faced claims of racism throughout his adult life. He insisted Barack Obama was not born in the US and demanded that his predecessor release his birth certificate to demonstrate otherwise.
In 1973, the family business, of which Trump was president, was sued by the Department of Justice for refusing to rent apartments to African Americans. The suit was settled “without an admission of guilt” and the organisation was required to make a series of changes designed to ensure it complied with anti-discrimination laws. In 1973 the family business was sued by the Department of Justice for refusing to rent apartments to African Americans. The suit was settled “without an admission of guilt” and the organisation was required to comply with anti-discrimination laws.
The comment about other nations was reportedly made during a bipartisan meeting aimed at finding a compromise deal for Dreamers, young people without legal immigration status who were brought to the US as children. Unless an agreement is reached, the Daca program will be scrapped in early March. In 1989, he took out ads in four newspapers demanding the return of the death penalty after five black teenagers were arrested over the rape of a woman in Central Park. They were innocent. In 2015 he launched his campaign for the presidency by calling Mexicans “rapists” and suggested a judge of Mexican descent would not treat him fairly.
Hopes of reaching a deal were unravelling on Sunday amid a war of words over the remark. And as president, he referred to white supremacists who marched in Virginia as “very fine people”, and criticised black NFL players protesting racial injustice. His first pardon was of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who targeted Latino people. He has no African Americans on his senior staff.
After the meeting, the Democratic senator Dick Durbin said Trump had made repeated “hate-filled, vile and racist” remarks. Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator, described the reports as “basically accurate”. The comment about other nations was reportedly made during a bipartisan meeting aimed at finding a deal for Dreamers, young people without legal immigration status brought to the US as children. The Daca program is due to be scrapped in early March.
Two other Republican senators, David Perdue and Tom Cotton, issued a statement on Friday saying they did not “recall the president saying those comments specifically”. Two days later, they backtracked. Hopes of a deal were unravelling on Sunday amid a war of words over the remark.
Perdue described the reports that Trump used the word as a “gross misrepresentation”. He said Durbin and Graham had been mistaken. All four senators were at the meeting. After the meeting, Democratic senator Dick Durbin said Trump made repeated “hate-filled, vile and racist” remarks and said he would prefer immigrants from Norway. Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator, described the reports as “basically accurate”.
“I am telling you that he did not use that word. And I’m telling you it’s a gross misrepresentation,” Perdue said on ABC’s This Week. Two other Republicans, David Perdue and Tom Cotton, issued a statement on Friday saying they did not “recall the president saying those comments specifically”. Two days later, Perdue described reports Trump used the word as a “gross misrepresentation” and said Durbin and Graham were mistaken.
Cotton told CBS’s Face the Nation that he did not hear the word being used “and I was sitting no further away from Donald Trump than Dick Durbin was”. In his brief remarks on Sunday, Trump, said: “Did you see what various senators in the room said about my comments? They weren’t made.”
On Sunday, Trump said: “Did you see what various senators in the room said about my comments? They weren’t made.” But Erick Erickson, a conservative pundit, tweeted: “It’s weird that people in the room don’t remember Trump using that word when Trump himself was calling friends to brag about it afterwards. I spoke to one of those friends. The president thought it would play well with the base …”
Josh Dawsey, a reporter for the Washington Post, tweeted: “White House official told me there is debate internally on whether Trump said ‘shithole’ or ‘shithouse’. Perdue and Cotton seem to have heard latter, this person said, and are using to deny.”
Politicians remembered King on Monday. Joe Crowley, chair of the House Democratic caucus, said: “In a moment when hate and discrimination are too commonplace in our nation’s discourse, we must all remember the teachings and legacy of Dr King.”
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