Democrats and Republicans in Congress are doing their best to find common-ground on the issue of immigration. After lawmakers offered a few ideas to Donald Trump, the president wasn't too happy about it.
Trump on immigration
Donald Trump announced his campaign for president back in June 2015, making headlines in the process when he referred to illegal immigrants from Mexico as "rapists" and "murderers." As the months moved on, Trump offered several controversial policy proposals on immigration reform, ranging from potential mass deportation to the idea of having Mexico fund a border wall.
Since his inauguration last January, Trump has struggled to find a compromise with Democrats and even some Republicans in the Senate and the House of Representatives. In recent days, Trump has attempted to look like the adult in the room, even allowing cameras into a bipartisan meeting at the White House over the issue at hand. Whether it's signing an extension of DACA or agreeing on funding for increased border security, immigration reform is a hot topic. As reported by the Washington Post on January 11, it doesn't look like the president is a fan of a few countries that some immigrants have come from.
According to a report by the Washington Post on Thursday, Donald Trump became increasingly frustrated after lawmakers proposed the idea of restoring the protection for immigrants that have come from El Salvador, Haiti, and select countries in Africa. "Why are we having all these people from sh*thole countries come here?" Trump asked, before commenting that the United States should focus on increased immigration from counties in Europe, including Norway. As of press time, the White House has yet to respond with a comment, though Trump has been reported in the past saying that immigrants from Haiti have AIDS.
Twitter backlash
Once the news went public of Donald Trump's comments, Twitter went viral.
"You finally hear it, this convo has always been about race. He and the GOP never cared about immigration just WHO immigrated. Those from African, Caribbean, Central and South American countries are seen as less than," one tweet read.
"And this is who they continue to give cover to. When you're this prejudiced and it's ingrained there's nothing you can do to work w/him. They knew this about him but still stand w/him. Doesn't say much about any of them," an additional tweet added. "We should all be ashamed that we have not corrected the flaw in our constitution that gave us this embarrassment that got 7.4 million less votes than his opponents. Time for the electoral college to go!" a Twitter user wrote.
"I don't understand why lawmakers are surprised by Trump's comment? It is not surprising at all as what he said is perfectly in line with what he was saying all this while. It is surprising, however, that Trump managed not to say it earlier," yet another tweet read. "This is who you're covering for, Republicans. I hope it was all worth it when you've allowed him to sweep you out of office and destroy a once great party. You deserve it for this," a Twitter user wrote.