Trump: Didn’t discuss ‘s—hole’ comments with Nigerian president

President Trump on Monday said his reported “shithole countries” comments did not come up during Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the White House.

“We didn’t discuss it,” Trump said during a press conference. “The president knows me and he knows where I’m coming from.”

Trump has previously denied using the term to describe African nations, but he stood by the crux of his remarks about nations that send immigrants to the U.S.

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“And you do have some countries that are in very bad shape and very tough places to live in,” the president said.

Still, Trump said he would like to visit Nigeria. 

“It’s an amazing country,” he said. “And in certain ways, I hear, from the standpoint of the beauty of a country, there’s no country more beautiful.”

Buhari said he did not raise the comments with Trump because he was unsure of the veracity of the media reports. 

“I’m not sure about, you know, the validity of whether that allegation against the president is true or not,” Buhari said. “So the best thing for me is to keep quiet.”

The Washington Post reported in January that Trump complained about immigrants coming from “shithole countries,” during a closed-door meeting with lawmakers, specifically referring to Haiti, El Salvador and some African nations. 

Despite Trump’s denials, members of Congress insisted he made the comments. 

“The words used by the president, as related to me directly following the meeting by those in attendance, were not ‘tough,’ they were abhorrent and repulsive,” Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) tweeted at the time.

The reported remarks sparked international outrage, with many U.S. diplomats being summoned to explain the comments to leaders in foreign countries.

Updated at 2:43 p.m.