Donald Trump has denied that he is racist following the offensive term he used to describe certain African nations, Haiti and El Salvador.
Following the international outcry over the comments made last week, Trump told reporters on Sunday: “I am not a racist. I’m the least racist person you have ever interviewed.”
Trump’s comments, referring to several nations as “shithole countries”, were made last week during an Oval Office meeting.
The remarks were not received lightly. Rupert Colville, the UN human rights spokesman, said: “You cannot dismiss entire countries and continents as ‘shitholes’ whose entire populations are not white and, therefore, not welcome,”
He referred to the comment made by the US President as “shocking and shameful”.
“This isn’t just a story about vulgar language. It’s about opening a door to humanity’s worst side. It’s about validating and encouraging racism and xenophobia that will potentially disrupt and even destroy the lives of many people.
“And that’s perhaps the single most damaging and dangerous consequence of this type of comment by a major political figure.”
Despite referring to himself as “the least racist person you have ever interviewed,” – Trump has often sparked controversy and faced many claims of racism.
His ‘Muslim ban’ had been described by a US judge as a “promise to exclude Muslims from the United States”.
Back in 1989, Trump paid for full-page adverts in four different newspapers demanding the return of the death penalty for innocent five black teenagers who were arrested after the rape of a woman in Central Park.
The US President described the wording used in the Oval Office meeting as “tough” but denied the wording.
Senator Dick Durbin did not change his position, saying that Trump had used “hate-filled, vile and racist” language.
The African Union demanded that Trump apologises at the “clearly racist” remarks.