These past days have been rough after Trump allegedly said that Haiti, El Salvador, and all the African nations were “shithole countries,” and that its citizens were not desirable for the United States. He was reunited in the White House’s Oval Office with lawmakers to talk about a bipartisan immigration deal, but several witnesses claim he indeed said that. To face this, South Africa called Sunday for a meeting with the acting US Ambassador Jessye Lapenn, in Pretoria, as part of a diplomatic protest, which will take place this Monday.
The remarks that the US President Donald Trump made on those “shithole countries” has provoked a large series of reactions around the world. Among them was the same Trump, who tweeted the day after the news came out on Thursday, saying that he could have used a “tough” language, but never said anything the sourced claimed.
Additionally, in another tweet, he wrote that he never openly asked at the meeting why America needed “more Haitians,” and that never suggested authorities should take them “out” of the United States. Then, he added that he had “wonderful relationships” with the people of Haiti and that everything was invented by the Democratic Party to make him look bad.
As Trump informed, the Democrats tried to interfere with the GOP and Democratic lawmakers who were talking about DACA, and how to help the millions of children illegally brought to the United States.
Although Trump denied he said anything wrong about Haiti, he never denied calling “shithole countries” to El Salvador and African nations. This made South Africa call for the meeting with the American authorities, according to the statement released Sunday. The officials from this country hope to get a real explanation and to fix the severely damaged relationships both countries have in between right now.
Officials from South Africa accepted the explanation Trump gave about his possible “tough” language. However, they didn’t say anything about Trump denying he was “racist” and “the least racist person.”
A few Republicans who were present at the Thursday meeting condemned Trump’s remarks. From the Dems, Senate Minority Whip Richard J. Durbin (Ill.) said that the denial the US President offered was false and that he “said things that were hate-filled, vile and racist.” The White House has not officially commented anything about this.
A diplomatic protest
Authorities from South Africa are expecting that Lapenn can explain to them why Trump made such a statement, and why he expressed that African countries, along with Haiti and El Salvador, “constitute ‘shitholes’ from where migrants into the United States are undesirable.”
“Relations between South Africa and the United States, and between the rest of Africa and the United States, must be based on mutual respect and understanding,” the officials said in the statement.
Lapenn is visiting the Department of International Relations and Cooperation Monday, as the US Embassy spokeswoman Cindy Harvey told the Johannesburg-based news site Daily Maverick.
Harvey also said that the officials agree the “importance of strong relations” between South Africa and America must be based on “mutual respect and understanding.” Then, she added that they are looking “forward” to move that relationship to that same direction and to stay “focused on accomplishing” the shared goals.
Officials from the affected nations have called US diplomats in the countries to complaint about Trump’s statement.
Relationships with the affected nations
The Undersecretary of State Steven Goldstein said in an interview that a president could say “whatever” he wants, which is one of the “great things” about actively serving to a country in that way. Then, he added that the ambassadors were “advised” to indicate that the government’s commitment to those countries “remains strong.”
Paul G. Altidor, Haiti’s ambassador in the US, also condemned Trump’s statement and asked officials for an explanation.
According to a group of people who were reunited in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump told the lawmakers that Haitians should leave the country and that America doesn’t need more of them.
Altidor also said that many people had sent emails to the Embassy of his country in the US apologizing for Trump’s behavior, and found it gratifying.
“In the spirit of the people of Haiti we feel in the statements, if they were made, the president was either misinformed or miseducated about Haiti and its people,” he said in a statement.
Hugo Martinez, foreign minister from El Salvador, said last week that his country is also expecting for an explanation from US officials.
“It’s always been a foreign policy priority of our government to fight for the respect and dignity of our countrymen independent of their immigration status,” he said. “Our countrymen are hard-working people, who are always contributing to the countries where they’re living and, of course, also in our country.”
Source: The Washington Post