The pastor of a historically black church in Maryland blasted the President for his denigrating comments about African countries while Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence were reportedly in attendance, according to local media and The Associated Press.
Maurice Watson, the pastor of Metropolitan Baptist Church in Largo, Maryland, said Sunday he felt “led by God” to denounce President Donald Trump’s “shithole” remarks about African countries.
“I stand today as your pastor to vehemently denounce and reject any such characterizations of the nations of Africa and our brothers and sisters in Haiti,” Watson said, according to a video posted on the church’s Facebook page.
Last week, Trump reportedly asked lawmakers in a bipartisan meeting discussing immigration reform why the U.S. needs more immigrants from Haiti and “shithole countries” like those in Africa, The Washington Post first reported and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who attended the meeting, later confirmed. Trump also said he would rather have more immigrants from Norway.
Trump has denied he made those remarks, but did admit to using “tough” language in his attempts to push for a merit-based immigration system. He later said Durbin “misrepresented” his remarks.
A local news outlet, WUSA-TV, reported that Pence appeared agitated and got red in the face during the sermon, but his office denied those reports to The Associated Press Monday.
H/t: The Huffington Post