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What remarks did Donald Trump make about African countries and Haiti in 2018 reported as 'shithole' comments?
Executive Summary
Donald Trump was reported in January 2018 to have used the phrase "shithole countries" about Haiti and several African nations during a White House meeting about immigration, and the reports provoked widespread domestic and international condemnation. Multiple contemporaneous accounts describe the remark, conflicting statements from the White House and the president followed, and the episode became a focal point for debate about presidential rhetoric and U.S. immigration policy [1] [2].
1. What exactly was reported — a blunt allegation about Haiti and African nations
Multiple news accounts from January 2018 reported that during a meeting with lawmakers about immigration policy, President Trump referred to Haiti and several African countries as "shithole countries," questioned why the United States should accept immigrants from those places and suggested preferring immigrants from countries like Norway. The initial reporting credited multiple people briefed on the meeting and identified the comment as part of a discussion about the visa lottery and a bipartisan immigration proposal. The allegation is consistent across the contemporaneous accounts, which state the remarks were uttered in the Oval Office during negotiations over protections for certain immigrants and broader border policy [1].
2. Who corroborated the reports and what did witnesses say
Lawmakers and aides present at the meeting are reported to have briefed reporters, and several news organizations cited those briefers in corroborating the account. Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin publicly characterized the comments as “hate-filled, vile and racist,” asserting he relayed the language to colleagues, while other sources described the remarks as blunt and vulgar. These contemporaneous accounts rely primarily on those present or briefed on the meeting; outlets wrote that the reporting was based on multiple, independent individuals familiar with the conversation. The convergence of independent briefings is presented in the reporting as the core evidence for the claim [3] [4] [1].
3. The White House and the president’s responses — denials and partial statements
Following the reports, the White House issued statements emphasizing the administration’s support for immigration policies that favor skilled immigrants and contributions to U.S. society, but did not offer a direct, simple denial of the vulgar phrasing as initially reported. President Trump later tweeted denials of using profane language, creating a conflict between his public denials and accounts from multiple participants and aides. News organizations noted that while official statements framed the administration’s immigration priorities, they did not fully rebut the specific quotation that had been widely reported by multiple outlets [5] [6] [3].
4. Domestic and international reactions — swift condemnation across the board
The reporting triggered immediate criticism from U.S. lawmakers across party lines, international organizations and foreign governments. The U.N. human rights office called the reported comments “shocking and shameful” and described them as racist; countries including Haiti and Botswana, as well as the African Union, condemned the alleged remarks. Several U.S. politicians, including Republicans and Democrats, publicly characterized the comments as inappropriate or racist, and some demanded apologies or censure. The widespread denunciations are presented in contemporaneous coverage as evidence of both political and diplomatic fallout stemming from the reported language [1] [4].
5. Contextual patterns cited by contemporaneous reporting — previous derogatory claims and immigration policy disputes
News coverage linked the January 2018 episode to an ongoing pattern of controversial remarks and policy decisions concerning immigrants that the president had made or endorsed. Reporters noted earlier allegations that Trump had made unfavorable comments about Haitian and Nigerian immigrants in 2017 and highlighted policy actions such as changes to Temporary Protected Status for certain countries. Coverage framed the incident within broader debates over merit-based immigration, the visa lottery, and the administration’s push for a border wall, presenting the quoted language as both rhetorical and policy-signaling by administration officials [4] [2] [1].
6. Where facts align and where disputes remain — the evidentiary picture and its limits
Contemporaneous reporting shows strong alignment on the core claim that vulgar language was used in the meeting to describe Haiti and some African countries, supported by multiple briefed individuals and corroborating accounts; at the same time, official denials by the president complicate the public record. The evidentiary strength lies in independent briefing sources as reported by several outlets, while the primary dispute revolves around the president’s direct denial and the White House’s choice to emphasize policy rather than a point-by-point rebuttal. The episode’s lasting significance in the record rests on the convergence of journalistic accounts and the political and diplomatic responses that followed [1] [5] [2].