Haiti’s US ambassador felt ‘surprise and disappointment’ at Trump ‘s—hole’ comment

The Haitian ambassador to the U.S. says he felt “surprise and disappointment” upon learning that President Trump called his home country a “shithole” during a meeting with lawmakers.  

“My first reaction was surprise and disappointment that the presidency of the United States allegedly would actually make such comments about any group of people, let alone the community of Haitians,” Ambassador Paul Altidor told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell.

Trump reportedly made the comment during an Oval Office meeting on immigration, suggesting the U.S. should take less people from “shithole countries” such as Haiti and El Salvador and more people from countries like Norway, according to The Washington Post. 

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“Why do we need more Haitians?” Trump said, singling out the Caribbean nation. “Take them out.” 

The ambassador rebuffed Trump’s remarks, calling attention to the diplomatic and ties between the two nations. 

“We’ve been a good neighbor, we’ve been a good friend, we’ve been a good partner of the U.S. over the years,” Altidor said. “Up to this day, Haitians, Haitian-Americans continue to be great contributors to this country.” 

Altidor also emphasized his earlier comments in reaction to Trump’s derogatory remarks, reminding viewers that Haitians fought “side by side” with Americans in the Revolutionary War. 

Trump denied the reports of the meeting on Friday, saying that his talk on immigration was “tough” but that “this was not the language used.” 

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who was at the meeting, said the report about the president’s remarks is true.

He said that Trump used “hate-filled, vile and racist” language to describe immigrants from poor countries.