President Donald Trump acknowledged Tuesday that he used the slur “shithole countries” to refer to Haiti and several African nations during a 2018 meeting with lawmakers, and he repeated the remark at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
Speaking at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Trump said he told lawmakers, “Why is it we only take people from shithole countries, right? Why can’t we have some people from Norway, Sweden?” He went on to complain that the U.S. “always take[s] people from Somalia,” calling such places “a disaster” and saying they were “filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime.” He framed the line as something to be proud of rather than apologized for.
The comments revived an episode that prompted international outrage when reports of the 2018 meeting first surfaced. At the time, the White House did not directly deny the substance of the account; the following day, Trump tweeted that “this was not the language I used” and insisted he “never said anything derogatory about Haitians.” Nevertheless, lawmakers from both parties and foreign officials condemned the reported remarks.
Several governments and leaders reacted strongly in 2018. Botswana summoned the U.S. ambassador, and Senegal’s President Macky Sall said he was shocked, emphasizing that Africa and people of African descent deserve respect and consideration.
Since leaving office, Trump’s public remarks have frequently broken presidential norms, including the use of profanity on camera. This year he twice used the F-word in public, and on Thanksgiving he employed a now-discredited slur for people with intellectual disabilities while criticizing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — a comment he later said he stood by when questioned by reporters.
The Pennsylvania rally appearance is the latest example of Trump returning to contentious language from his presidency as he campaigns, drawing renewed attention and criticism from opponents and some international observers.
