Facing strong condemnation at home and abroad, US President Donald Trump on Friday denied using the word “shithole” to describe Haiti and African countries, but kept up criticism of a Senate immigration plan that he said would force the United States to admit people from countries that “are doing badly.” Trump reportedly made the remarks at a White House meeting on immigration on Thursday. Trump, who has been accused of racism over several issues since he took office a year ago, sought to walk back the comments on Friday, saying on Twitter, “The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used.” Trump also denied saying “anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country.” According to two sources, at Thursday’s meeting Trump questioned why the United States would want to accept immigrants from Haiti and African nations, referring to some as “shithole countries.”

While many Republican lawmakers stayed quiet on Trump’s remarks, Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, called them “unfortunate” and “unhelpful,” noting in an interview on CNN that his family had emigrated to the United States from Ireland to help build the nation’s railroads. But South Africa’s ruling African National Congress called Trump’s comments “extremely offensive.” Deputy secretary general Jesse Duarte said developing countries do have difficulties but the United States itself has millions of people out of work or without health care, and “we would not deign to make comments as derogatory.”

South African opposition leader Mmusi Maimane called Trump’s comments “abhorrent … The hatred of Obama’s roots now extends to an entire continent.”

African media outlets and the continent’s young, increasingly connected population were not being shy. This is a president who lives in a make-believe world, a president who can say in a Twitter post, “I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians,” and can say it one day after the “shithole” remark was reported. There is no other word one can use but ‘racist’,” UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a Geneva news briefing when asked about the comments.
U.S. President Donald Trump refers to Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as "shithole countries" in a private meeting.