Trump 's***hole' comments: Senator warns of 'bigotry allied with power' as Homeland Security Secretary says she can't remember what President said
Kirstjen Nielsen says she was 'struck by general profanity in the room' but did not give details
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump‘s Secretary of Homeland Security has been accused of wilful “amnesia” over the President’s alleged use of the term “s***hole countries” during an immigration meeting.
Kirstjen Nielsen told senators she did not recall the specific language used by Mr Trump in last week’s bipartisan meeting, where the billionaire was accused of having referred to Haiti, El Salvador and various African countries in a derogatory way.
“What I was struck with frankly, as I’m sure you were as well, was just the general profanity used in the room by almost everyone”, she said.
Democratic senator Cory Booker responded angrily and said: “When ignorance and bigotry is allied with power it is a dangerous force in our country.
“Your silence and your amnesia is complicity.”
It was “unacceptable” that Ms Nielsen could not remember Mr Trump’s exact words, he said on Tuesday during a nearly-two-minute harangue.
The fallout has been widespread since Mr Trump’s alleged comments were reported last week by The Washington Post.
African Union countries demanded an apology, with Ghana, Senegal, Botswana, South Africa and Nigeria hauling in US diplomats to give an explanation.
Haiti did the same and Haitians living in the US protested and called for Mr Trump to apologise.
Mr Trump has denied using the word “s***hole” but admitted being “tough” during the meeting. The White House, however, has not substantively disputed accounts of the episode.
Administration officials and other politicians who were present spent the weekend debating the precise vulgarity used, and tried to cast last Thursday’s summit as a salty affair, with expletives flying in all directions.
“The President hasn’t said he didn’t use strong language, and this is an important issue,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said, “He’s passionate about it, he’s not going to apologise for trying to fix our immigration system.”
Additional reporting by agencies
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments