Tucker Carlson on Trump’s ‘s—hole’ remark: Why can’t you say that?

Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Thursday night questioned the backlash over President Trump’s reported remarks on accepting immigrants from “shithole countries.”

Carlson said it would be dishonest to say one wouldn’t rather live in Norway, a country where Trump reportedly suggested that the U.S. focus on bringing in immigrants, than Haiti.

“So if you say Norway is a better place to live and Haiti is kind of a hole, well anyone who’s been to those countries or has lived in them would agree. But we’re jumping up and down, ‘Oh, you can’t say that.’ Why can’t you say that?” Carlson asked following amid bipartisan criticism of Trump’s remarks.

Fox News host Jesse Watters also defended Trump’s remark Thursday, arguing that the “forgotten men and women” who make up the president’s base would approve of the comment.

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Trump reportedly made the “shithole” comment in an Oval Office meeting after lawmakers suggested restoring protections for immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and several African nations.

Carlson said that Trump’s use of strong language was not surprising given that the president swears “all the time” and asked why so many were treating the comment as a “major event.” 

“An awful lot of immigrants come from this country from other places that aren’t very nice,” Carlson continued. “Those places are dangerous, they’re dirty, they’re corrupt and they’re poor, and that’s the main reason those immigrants are trying to come here and you would too if you lived there.”

The Trump administration decided Monday to revoke Temporary Protected Status for more than 200,000 Salvadorans seeking shelter in the U.S., forcing them to leave the country by 2019 or find another way to stay in the U.S. legally.

Carlson suggested earlier Thursday night on Twitter that if El Salvador was not a “shithole” then it wouldn’t need the extended protections.

“Option A: El Salvador isn’t a ‘shithole,’ so they don’t need 17 years of Temporary Protected Status, and migrants from there should be sent home immediately. Option B: El Salvador is, in fact, a ‘shithole,'” Carlson tweeted. 

Option A: El Salvador isn’t a “shithole,” so they don’t need 17 years of Temporary Protected Status, and migrants from there should be sent home immediately. Option B: El Salvador is, in fact, a “shithole.” https://t.co/sea1sKoY8K

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) January 11, 2018