While much has been said on Twitter and among the press surrounding the vicious and abhorrent statement made by Donald Trump on current immigration trends out of Haiti, El Salvador and other countries, with the 45th President of the United States questioning why so many immigrants from “s**thole countries come here”, there has been an equally disappointed and appalled response from several local and foreign powers across the globe.
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Shortly after the President’s outlandish remarks on Friday, Robert Colville, the spokesman for the U.N’s high commissioner of Human Rights, said if the incident was confirmed, which has since been corroborated by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D – IL) and Lindsey Graham (R – S.C.), that these “shameful” comments could only be considered “racist”. He went on to make more strong remarks about the President’s conduct and the severity of these comments towards nations with largely non-white populations:
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“You cannot dismiss entire countries and continents as ‘s***holes’, whose entire populations who are not white, are therefore not welcome.”
“This isn’t just a story about vulgar language, it’s about opening the door to humanity’s worst side, about validating and encouraging racism and xenophobia.”
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On Capitol Hill, many on the Republican side have found it very difficult to defend Trump’s statements and recent views on immigration, with a few speaking out directly against the President’s remarks. U.S. Representative Mia Love of Utah was quoted on CNN as saying she “can’t defend the indefensible”, citing that her own parents were from Haiti and that immigrants like her parents do “everything they [can] to take on, not only the benefits but the responsibilities of what it [means] to be an American citizen.” Others critical of President Trump include Sen. Tim Scott (R – S.C.), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Susan Collins (R – Maine), and even House Speaker Paul Ryan (R – WI) condemning the statements as “very unfortunate, unhelpful.” Noted Democrats like Hillary Clinton, Rep. John Lewis, and former Vice President Joe Biden also chimed into the matter:
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It’s not how a president should speak. It’s not how a president should behave. Most of all, it’s not what a president should believe. We’re better than this.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 12, 2018
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However, the most critical and possibly most important responses have come from international diplomats and world leaders, many of whom preside over countries included in Trump’s crude “s**thole” descriptor. The African Union, which is made up of 55 different nations, were “frankly alarmed” by the comments and that it “flies in the face of all accepted behavior and practice.” This prompted further individual statements released by Botswana (linked here), the African National Congress of South Africa (linked here), El Salvador’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (linked here), and the President of the Republic of Ghana:
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The language of @realDonaldTrump that the African continent, Haiti and El Salvador are “shithole countries” is extremely unfortunate. We are certainly not a “shithole country”. We will not accept such insults, even from a leader of a friendly country, no matter how powerful.
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) January 13, 2018
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It seems that no matter where the President looks, he can find no allies of credibility and stature in his ignorance and xenophobia. His denials of this incident, in lieu of apologies and remorse, only continue to prove a sentiment that’s echoed through the reactions and disappointment of those throughout the diplomatic world: Donald Trump’s distaste for the “un-American” knows no bounds and no filters.
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