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Five years ago, a remark from U.S. President Donald Trump ignited a global outrage. It happened during a closed-door immigration meeting at the White House on January 11, 2018.
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He allegedly referred to African nations, Haiti, and El Salvador as “shithole countries”.
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The injurious remark which was first reported by The Washington Post was later confirmed by The New York Times and CNN.
President Donald Trump’s phrase drew international outrage, elicited condemnation from world leaders, the United Nations, and civil rights groups and fueled ongoing debates about racism in American politics.
Today, Daily Report Nigeria revisits the controversy, examining its lasting impact on U.S.-Africa relations, immigration policy, and on Trump’s political legacy.
A Meeting that Turned Controversial, What Was Said?
It happened that there was a bipartisan meeting on Immigration reforms and lawmakers gathered to discuss protections for immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program.
As senators proposed extending protections to Haitians, Salvadorans, and Africans, Trump reportedly asked:
“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?”
Immediate the utterance left his lips, silence reigned in the Whitehouse as the remark stunned the lawmakers in attendance.
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In fact, according to the full report from the New York Times, According to reports, he allegedly proposed that the U.S. should welcome more immigrants from Norway instead of Africans.
Does this reflect in his 2025 Immigration Crackdown on Africans?
Your guess is as good as mine. After five years, Donald Trump has achieved his intention of preventing ‘shithole countries’ from staying in America.
Recall that Africa has the second highest number of people set to be deported by the US Immigration sector.
But, what did he say earlier when news went around about the statement he made in 2018?
The American President blatantly denied it. Due to the high backlash as a result of the statement, he took to his Twitter now X handle and tweeted:
“The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used.”
What could he mean by tough?
Trump didn’t specify what he meant by that, but he denied calling Africans, Haiti and Salvador shit hole countries.
What did top America Figures say about this?
Well, Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), who was present at the meeting, insisted that Trump did make the remarks. He tagged them “hate-filled, vile, and deeply offensive.”
Also, Republican Senator, Lindsey Graham (R-SC) did not directly confirm if Trump made the phrase or not, what he stated was that he challenged the remarks during the meeting.
Despite the insistent denials by the U.S President, many media outlets, including The Washington Post and The New York Times, stood by their reports.
What was the Global reaction to Trump’s Statement?
African Union and World Leaders Condemn Trump’s Remark. The African Union (AU) issued a rare diplomatic statement expressing “shock, disappointment, and outrage.” Through their spokesperson Ebba Kalondo, AU said his words “dishonored American values of respect and dignity.”
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The Haitian government asked a U.S. diplomat to explain Trump’s remarks as
Haitian Americans staged protests in Miami and New York, rejecting Trump’s statement. They described it as “shocking and shameful”.
Reuters reported that United Nations Labels It ‘Racist’. Reuters reported that UN human rights spokesperson Rupert Colville condemned the remark, and said,
“You cannot dismiss entire countries and continents as ‘shitholes’ whose entire populations are not welcome.”
Norwegians whom the U.S president favoured were sarcastic in their reactions to Trump’s Statement.
The Guardian reported that Norwegian citizens one of their Newspaper publications asked, “Why Would Norwegians Want to Move to the U.S.?”
How Nigerians reacted to Trump’s Statement
Although the Trump has been a favourite of most Nigerians his statement earned him a bad review.
Nigeria’s Foreign Ministers expressed disappointment and concern over the remark.
The social media space was not left out as Nigerians took to X to vent their anger through the use of hashtags #ShitholeCountries which trended for days.
But surprisingly, the Nigerian President then, President Buhari never directly condemned Trump’s words. When he later visited Trump at the White House in April 2018, he avoided confrontation, focusing instead on strengthening U.S.-Nigeria ties.
However, opposition leaders criticized Buhari’s lack of response, calling it a missed opportunity to defend Nigeria’s dignity.
The Nigerians in the USA pushed back against the stereotype. According to Pew Research, Nigerian-Americans are among the most educated immigrant groups, with over 60% holding college degrees.
Resultant effects of Trump’s Statement
Ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) as
Over 200,000 immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador, and Africa lost TPS protections.
Travel Ban: In 2020, the U.S president expanded his controversial travel ban to include Nigeria, the most populous African nation.
Failed DACA Negotiations as no negotiation was reached.
Was Trump affected by his remark?
Yes, Trump was heavily affected by his remark.
He lost his re-election to his opponent, Joe Biden who secured his win from the large Black and immigrant populations, including the city Georgia and Pennsylvania.
