'Shithole Countries' Comment About African Nations

The Remark

On January 11, 2018, during a bipartisan Oval Office meeting on immigration reform, President Trump grew frustrated with a proposal to restore protections for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador, and several African nations. According to multiple people in the room, Trump asked, “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” He then suggested the United States should instead accept more immigrants from countries like Norway.

The comments were first reported by The Washington Post and were confirmed on the record by Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, a Democrat who was present at the meeting. “He said these hate-filled things, and he said them repeatedly,” Durbin told reporters. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican who was also in attendance, did not deny the remarks and was reported to have pushed back against Trump in the moment.

The Reaction

The comments provoked immediate global condemnation. The African Union demanded a retraction and an apology. The Haitian government summoned the U.S. charge d’affaires. The United Nations human rights spokesperson called the remarks “racist,” noting, “There is no other word one can use but racist.” Leaders and citizens across Africa and the Caribbean expressed outrage.

At home, Democrats and some Republicans condemned the remarks as racist. Trump initially issued a semi-denial, saying his language had been “tough” but claiming he had not used those exact words. However, his denials were contradicted by Durbin’s on-the-record account and by other senators who confirmed the substance of the remarks.

The Pattern

The “shithole countries” remark did not occur in a vacuum. It fit a long pattern of Trump expressing preferences for white European immigrants over those from predominantly non-white nations. During the 2016 campaign, he had called Mexican immigrants “rapists” and “criminals.” His travel ban targeted predominantly Muslim countries. His administration had moved to end Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador, and several African nations.

The Norway comparison was particularly revealing. Norway, one of the world’s whitest and wealthiest nations, was the last country Trump had met with a foreign leader from — Prime Minister Erna Solberg had visited the White House the day before. The juxtaposition of overwhelmingly white Norway with African and Caribbean nations stripped away any pretense that Trump’s immigration positions were about economics or security rather than race.

Lasting Impact

The remark became one of the most widely cited examples of Trump’s racism in office and was invoked repeatedly in subsequent debates over immigration policy. It also highlighted the degree to which Trump’s private conduct matched or exceeded his public rhetoric. For many Americans, particularly immigrants and people of color, the comment confirmed what they had long felt: that the President of the United States viewed their countries of origin, and by extension them, with contempt.