Trump’s disparaging remarks about Haiti and Africa raise ire of Blacks, others
16th January 2018 · 0 Comments
President Donald Trump’s reference to Haiti and the African continent as “shitholes” drew wide criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle as well as Black leaders and members of the media.
During an Oval Office meeting Thursday in which he questioned why the U.S. should allow more immigrants from “shithole” countries, the president reportedly suggested that the United States should instead strive to attract more immigrants from nations like Norway.
The remarks, which garnered international headlines, prompted CNN journalist Don Lemon to call the president a “racist” and led to some members of Trump’s own party to seek to distance themselves from the controversial leader and his offensive comments.
Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond, D–Louisiana, wasted no time in blasting President Trump for his remarks.
“(Donald Trump’s) ‘shithole’ comments are further proof that his Make America Great Again agenda is really a Make America White Again agenda,” Congressman Richmond said through a statement released by the Congressional Black Caucus’ Twitter account.
Richmond later offered additional comments in a formal statement that said Trump’s comments are another “confirmation of his racially insensitive and ignorant views.”
“All of the reservations we have had about negotiating with him on immigration are well-founded,” Richmond said. “President Trump is clearly more concerned with ending the future flow of immigrants from Africa and the African diaspora than providing relief to Dreamers who came here through no fault of their own.
“Unfortunately, there is no reason to believe that we can negotiate in good faith with a person who holds such vile and reprehensible beliefs … Now that his true motivations are clear, the Congressional Black Caucus calls on all Members of Congress, including those negotiating on the immigration deal, to reject any and all efforts to end the Diversity Visa Program.”
Trump’s disparaging remarks about Black immigrants were made during discussion of revamping rules affecting entrants from Africa and Haiti, according to three people briefed on the conversation, as two lawmakers described details to him of a bipartisan compromise among six senators that would extend protections against deportation for hundreds of thousands of young immigrants and strengthen border protections.
The Associated Press reported that President Trump specifically questioned why the U.S. would want to admit more people from Haiti and Africa, asking why more people from “shithole” countries should be allowed into the U.S., the sources said.
Asked about Trump’s remarks, White House spokesman Raj Shah did not deny them.
“Certain Washington politicians choose to fight for foreign countries, but President Trump will always fight for the American people,” Shah said.
“The President of the United States is racist,” CNN host Don Lemon said at the beginning of his broadcast Thursday.
“A lot of us already knew that,” Lemon added.
“Those comments are frankly disgusting,” Lemon told viewers. “There’s other language I would like to use, but we are on television. But you know what? They’re not shocking. Not even really surprising because this is who President Trump is. This is what he thinks.”
During his earlier broadcast, CNN host Anderson Cooper said that the president’s were all the more offensive given the fact that he made them on the anniversary of the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti several years ago.
“Haitians slap your hand when they shake it,” Cooper said. “They look you in the eye. They have a dignity. It’s a dignity that many in this White House could learn from. It’s a dignity this president with all his money and all his power could learn from as well. On the anniversary of the earthquake, when this president has said what he’s said about Haitians, we hope the people in Haiti who are listening tonight, we hope they know that our thoughts are with them and that our love iso with them as well.”
Trump’s remarks came just days before the nation commemorates the National Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday and moves closer to marking the 50th anniversary of King’s assassination.
“The words used by the President, as related to me directly following the meeting by those in attendance, were not ‘tough,’ they were abhorrent and repulsive,” U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Arizona, said last week..
“If these comments are accurate, they are disappointing.,” U.S. Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, said in a statement. “I would not talk about nations like this because the people of those countries are made in the image of God and have worth and human dignity. The United States should lead the world in respect for all people.”
“President Trump’s comments regarding Haiti and Africa are wrong and deeply offensive,” U.S. Rep. John Faso, R-New York, said. “This type of language is counterproductive and undermines the U.S. and our relations around the world.”
“The president calling Haiti a ‘shithole country’ ignores the contributions thousands of Haitians have made to our #SoFla community and nation,” U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Florida, said. “Language like that shouldn’t be heard in locker rooms and it shouldn’t be heard in the White House.”
“The African Union Commission is frankly alarmed at statements by the president of the United States when referring to migrants of African countries and others in such contemptuous terms,” said Ebba Kalondo, the spokeswoman for commission chair Moussa Faki. “Considering the historical reality of how many Africans arrived in the U.S. during the Atlantic slave trade, this flies in the face of all accepted practice.”
She added that the statement was particularly unpleasant coming from the leader of a country that is a “global example” of how a strong and diverse country can be the product of migration.
Illinois state Sen. Kwame Raoul, son of Haitian immigrants, said there was no “apologizing out of this.”
“He’s demonstrated himself to be unfit, unknowledgeable about the history of this country and the history of contributions that immigrants, particularly Haitian immigrants, have made to this country,” Raoul, a Democrat, told CBS. “It makes me embarrassed to have this guy as the president of my country.”
Farah Larrieux, a Haitian immigrant and organizer in Miami, referenced statements Trump made in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood while campaigning before the 2016 presidential election that he wanted “to be the biggest champion” for Haitian Americans.
“This is beyond politics. The guy has no respect for anyone. I am trying not to cry,” she told CBS. “I can’t understand how someone goes from making a statement in Little Haiti saying ‘I want to be the biggest champion of Haiti’ to calling Haiti a ‘shithole.’ It makes me sick.”
“President Trump’s crude statement regarding immigration from Haiti and African nations is appalling for its lack of compassion, and stunning for its ignorance about the contributions of Haitian and African immigrants,” National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial said.
“Even more troubling was the fact that his slur was coupled with a desire for more immigration from overwhelmingly white countries like Norway,” the former New Orleans mayor added..
“Congress must reject this divisive and racially-discriminatory approach to immigration policy. We in the Urban League’s Movement believe, like most Americans, that this nation must remain ‘Mother of Exiles’ and that the ‘tempest-tost’ may seek refuge here.”
This article originally published in the January 15, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
