President Donald Trump has said he was “totally misrepresented” by those saying he used the term “shithole” to describe African nations last week.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump also said the allegation was hurting efforts to strike a deal to protect so-called Dreamer immigrants.<\/p>\n
The president was responding to a claim by Democratic Senator Dick Durbin that he used “vile and racist” language during a meeting on immigration reform.<\/p>\n
The alleged remarks sparked global outrage and demands that he apologise.<\/p>\n
“There is no other word one can use but racist,” said a UN spokesman.<\/p>\n
On Monday, two senators who said he did indeed use the disparaging remark stood by their account of what took place.<\/p>\n
What did the president allegedly say?<\/strong><\/p>\n The row broke out after Republican and Democratic lawmakers visited the president in the Oval Office on Thursday to work on a proposal for an immigration deal.<\/p>\n A key issue they need to agree on is what to do with an Obama-era scheme that protects some 800,000 young people who entered the US illegally as children – known as the Dreamers.<\/p>\n But the alleged slur was uttered during another topic for discussion – the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) given to a number of nationalities currently living in the country.<\/p>\n In recent weeks the Trump administration has made a series of announcements that have brought that status to an end.<\/p>\n Hours after the meeting, reports emerged that Mr Trump had asked: “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?”<\/p>\n The US should be taking in migrants from countries like Norway, he is reported to have said.<\/p>\n Accounts suggest that when Mr Trump was told that the largest groups of immigrants with that status were from El Salvador, Honduras and Haiti, the president responded: “Haitians? Do we need more Haitians?”<\/p>\n What have those in the room said?<\/strong><\/p>\n On Friday, Mr Durbin said: “I cannot believe that in the history of the White House, in that Oval Office, any president has ever spoken the words that I personally heard our president speak yesterday.<\/p>\n “President Trump said things that were hate-filled, vile, and racist. He used those words repeatedly.”<\/p>\n Mr Trump responded by saying his language was “tough” but not the language used in the news reports. He also denied he was a racist.<\/p>\n And on Monday he tweeted that Mr Durbin had “totally misrepresented what was said”.<\/p>\n He also blamed the Democratic senator for the apparent impasse over negotiations to reach a solution on the Dreamers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting. Deals can\u2019t get made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our Military.<\/p>\n \u2014 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n