In the same meeting during which President Donald Trump referred to African countries as “shithole countries,” he also told congressional lawmakers that he did not care about any demands from the Congressional Black Caucus, the Washington Post reported Monday evening.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who was at the Thursday meeting to promote a bipartisan plan to restore the protections from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, told the President at one point that the Congressional Black Caucus would be more likely to back a deal that gave immigrants from certain countries protected status, the Washington Post reported, citing people familiar with the meeting. Trump told Durbin he was not interested in catering to the CBC, per the Post.
Trump’s combative and racially charged comments in last week’s meetings have endangered a deal on DACA. The President sided with immigration hardliners in his administration and in Congress, alienating the lawmakers working on a bipartisan proposal. In the wake of reports about his comments, Trump has attacked Democrats and specifically gone after Durbin, who confirmed that Trump said “shithole countries” during the meeting.
Read the Washington Post’s full report on the meeting here.
