Sen, Dick Durbin (D-IL) was asked on Meet The Press if he was sorry for amplifying Trump’s “shithole countries” comment, Durbin said no, but he was sorry that Trump said it.
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Transcript:
CHUCK TODD:
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Let me ask you about that White House meeting. You’ve said you’ve not leaked the contents of that meeting.
SEN. DICK DURBIN:
That’s true.
CHUCK TODD:
You amplified it though. Why’d you do that?
SEN. DICK DURBIN:
Because the president denied it happened. I was in Chicago, I woke up the next morning. The story had been in the Washington Post the night before. And the president tweeted it didn’t happen. And it did happen, Chuck.
CHUCK TODD:
I ask this because I played that ad that the Trump campaign is playing that’s accusing Democrats of being accomplices to crimes, to murders for some reason. Not helpful to a negotiation obviously to do name-calling. This became personal for many of you, not helpful to this. Do you regret that that became public?
SEN. DICK DURBIN:
I’m sorry that it was said. I’m sorry that the president denied it. But for the longest time, we’ve heard that the driving force behind the administration’s position on immigration is safety. It’s terrorism. You heard Marc Short said the same thing earlier. What we heard in that Thursday meeting was much different. It really reflected something which I hope we will not continue to subscribe to in this country. We are a nation of immigrants. That is part of our values. We want to keep America safe. That’s our first priority. But let us not turn immigrants into criminals. Let us not deport the Dreamers.
At the heart of this government shutdown is a battle over Trump’s attempt to turn immigrants into criminals. Trump isn’t trying to turn all immigrants into criminals, just the non-white immigrants.
Democrats have taken a stand that is rooted in decency and American values. Dick Durbin shouldn’t apologize for anything. He did a great service to his country when he made Trump’s comments public. People need to know what their president really believes. Sen. Durbin should get a thank you from Americans across the nation. It is Donald Trump who should be apologizing for what he is doing to the United States Of America.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
