President Trump has issued an “apology” after referring to El Salvador, Haiti, and African countries as “shithole countries” during a bipartisan immigration meeting in the Oval Office in early January.
This week, he sent a letter to African leaders, stating that he “deeply respects” the people of Africa and guaranteed “strong and respectful relationships” with African countries. Trump also gave his “best wishes for a successful summit,” adding that African and U.S. troops are “fighting side by side to defeat terrorists and build secure communities.” It seems like Trump is just covering his ass though: according to NBC News, the letter was sent in advance of the African Union summit this weekend in Ethiopia.
Trump’s comments caused an international backlash, with many blasting him for the remarks, including African leaders—such as Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo, Hillary Clinton, Lupe Fiasco, Don Lemon, Cardi B, LeBron James, and more. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos even responded to Trump's comments by donating $33 million to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy (DACA) students.
Even though historians are calling Trump's comment the most openly racist remark by a president in decades, he still contends that he's not racist. “I’m not a racist. I’m the least racist person you will ever interview. That I can tell you,” he told White House pool reporters earlier this month. But just as we all do, the New York Times begs to differ, and has published what they call “a definitive list” of every single racist comment Trump has made through his entire career as a public figure.
