New England lawmakers are joining others across the country Thursday in decrying President Donald Trump's assessment that Haiti and nations in Africa are "s---hole countries" from which the U.S. shouldn't want immigrants.
Trump, according to an aide, was in an immigration meeting with senators at the White House when he asked why the U.S. would want immigrants from "all these s---hole countries," and that the nation should have more people coming from places like Norway, whose prime minister he met with on Wednesday.
"It appears as if the color of money isn’t the only color @realDonaldTrump cares about," Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts tweeted. "These are words of hate and we must condemn them on many sides."
"America's president is a racist and this is proof. His hateful rhetoric has no place in the @WhiteHouse," Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA2) tweeted. "Every single Republican must denounce these comments now."
"Breathtakingly offensive," Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont said. "What's worse, it's ignorant of American ideals, and of the strength we derive from E Pluribus Unum. This is not who we are."
"Every day, he sinks lower. What an utter embarassment to our country," Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts' 5th district said.
"President Trump's remarks smack of blatant racism – odious and insidious racism masquerading poorly as immigration policy. He does not speak for me as an American," Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut tweeted. "Trump's racist remarks threaten our national security and diminish our standing around the world as a beacon of tolerance. He owes every single American an apology ... We cannot grow desensitized. President Trump's racist remarks – unworthy of the office he holds – demand outrage and outcry from Americans everywhere."
