Racism has a strong ally in President Donald Trump. During a bipartisan meeting about immigration, the commander-in-chief citied people from Haiti and other African lands as “sh*thole countries.”
The report was published Thursday (Jan. 11) via The New York Times and The Washington Post just hours after the meeting. Trump insulted the countries while pushing for more natives from Norway to come to the US. He also previously claimed all Haitians have AIDS and questioned why natives should be allowed to cross the border. The White House later denied the comments.
“Why do we need more Haitians?” Trump said. “Take them out. Why are we having all these people from sh*thole countries come here?” News spread quickly of his comments, with many critics calling out his clear implicit bias.
The White House has fired back defending his comments. “Certain Washington politicians choose to fight for foreign countries, but President Trump will always fight for the American people,” spokesman Raj Shah told The Post. “. . . Like other nations that have merit-based immigration, President 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.”
Speaking to CNN, Bakari Sellers explained how little has changed in the US regarding the rhetoric and nature of racism. “Racism is a question of power, not a question of attitude,” he said. “When we say that president of the United States is racist, we’re saying that he harbors these views and holds the power to implement which subjugates these people to oppressive systems.”
Meanwhile, the outlets like the NY Times and Associated Press have chosen not to censor Trump’s comments. “It would be futile to mask the word when the language itself, in reference to Haiti and African countries, was so extraordinary,” John Daniszewski, A.P.’s vice president for standards said.
Republican Rep. Mia Love of Utah, who is of Haitian decent, demanded Trump to apologize. “The (President’s) comments are unkind, divisive, elitist, and fly in the face of our nation’s values,” Love said in a statement. “The President must apologize to both the American people and the nations he so wantonly maligned.”
Trump has used racist language in the past towards people of color calling Mexican “rapists” and African-American NFL players “sons of bi**hes.”