After President Donald Trump made racist remarks lamenting immigrants coming from “shithole countries” like Haiti and nations in Africa rather than from Norway, people on Twitter, including some actually from Norway, were quick to remark that, for many Norwegians, America may seem to be a bit of a shithole.
At a meeting with lawmakers in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump called Haiti and African nations “shithole countries” while arguing against restoring protections for immigrants from those regions.
White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah later responded in a statement, saying, “Certain Washington politicians choose to fight for foreign countries, but President Trump will always fight for the American people.”
The following day, Trump claimed on Twitter that he hadn’t used those specific words, but Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) ― who was in the room at the time ― swiftly contradicted him, saying that the president had in fact “said these hate-filled things and he said them repeatedly.”
Needless to say, Trump’s words ― the latest in a long list of racist remarks the president has made since he was elected ― caused outrage among many groups, with several members of Congress swiftly condemning them.
People on Twitter were, of course, quick to respond, telling the president that for Norwegians, the United States, and particularly Trump’s America, may actually not be so attractive. After all, Norway is the happiest country in the world.
The article has been updated to include that Trump has denied having used that specific language, and Durbin’s assertion that he did.