Just when we thought Donald Trump’s bigoted comments from Thursday’s Oval Office meeting couldn’t get any worse, new reporting added fuel to the racist dumpster fire.
Not only did Trump refer to Haiti, El Salvador and other places in Africa as “shithole countries, but according to updated reporting from the Washington Post, the president asked those in the same meeting, “Why do we need more Haitians?”
The Post added that Trump told lawmakers in the room that they should “take them out†of any possible deal on immigration.Â
According to the report: “Lawmakers were taken aback by the comments, according to people familiar with their reactions.”
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
More recently, NBC News reported that at least one person in the room spoke up and told the president that if he were to “take [Haitians] out” of the country, it would be obvious why he was doing so – a suggestion to Trump that his racism is quite obvious.
More from NBC’s Peter Alexander, citing Kasie Hunt and Frank Thorp:
More from today’s “sh*thole†mtg:
Trump said, “Why do we need more Haitians, take them out,†according to our sources.
Someone else in room responded: “Because if you do, it will be obvious why.â€
h/t @kasie @frankthorp
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) January 12, 2018
As I wrote earlier, this is part of the pattern of racism that Trump has displayed since taking office and, before that, throughout his campaign. Sadly, it will likely be treated like all the president’s previous spewings: Trump says something overtly racist or outrageous, there is an immediate bipartisan outrage, and then all things return to normal.
But there is absolutely nothing normal about this rhetoric, and now that this disgusting worldview is being used to create actual policy, it’s particularly dangerous.
During the campaign, Trump said he would be the “champion” of Haitian Americans, even if they didn’t vote for him. Now that he’s actually in the Oval Office, he is plotting ways to remove these same people from the country.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
