Sen. Dick Durbin says he 'personally heard' Trump's 'hate-filled, vile, and racist' comments in immigration meeting

(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter)

published 12 January 2018

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Friday that he "personally heard" President Trump make "hate-filled, vile, and racist" comments during a bipartisan immigration meeting Thursday that Durbin attended.

Lawmakers were reportedly in the Oval Office discussing changes to the visa lottery system when talk turned to immigrants from Africa and Trump asked why they would want people from "all these shithole countries" coming to America. While the White House did not deny the comments, Trump tweeted that "the language used by me ... was tough, but this was not the language used."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.