Republican Sens. David Perdue and Tom Cotton say they “don’t recall” President Trump “specifically” smearing Haiti and African nations as “shitholes” at an Oval Office meeting they attended Thursday.
“We do not recall the President saying these comments specifically but what he did call out was the imbalance in our current immigration system, which does not protect American workers and our national interest,” the two lawmakers said in a joint statement Friday.
Trump reportedly said, “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” during a discussion on extending protections for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries.
The president denies making the remark, although Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, who was also present at the meeting, claims he used the word “shithole” repeatedly.