Trump's Full List of 'Racist' Comments About Immigrants, Muslims and Others

GettyImages-901217668
President Donald Trump listens with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen during a meeting with Republican members of the Senate about immigration at the White House, on January 4. Trump referred to immigrants from... JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

President Donald Trump referred to immigrants from Haiti and African nations as coming from "shithole countries," according to a report by The Washington Post on Thursday.

"Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" Trump said, according to the publication and others who attended the meeting. He later suggested that the U.S. should bring in more immigrants from countries like Norway.

He later added, "Why do we need more Haitians? Take them out," according to the Post.

There are no words for language like this except for one: Racist. https://t.co/KHLMiiHewh

— ACLU (@ACLU) January 11, 2018

This isn't the first time the president has come under fire for comments about immigrants that critics have labeled as "racist."

  1. Donald Trump kicked off his 2016 presidential bid by disparaging Mexican immigrants."They are not our friend, believe me," he said. "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
  2. According to The New York Times, Trump said during a meeting in June that Haitians "all have AIDS." The White House vehemently denied the report.
  3. Trump said that Nigerian immigrants wouldn't ever "go back to their huts" in Africa.

In addition to immigrants, the president has also faced criticism for "racist" comments about people from other countries regardless of their immigration status.

  1. Trump said that Afghanistan is a "terrorist haven."
  2. During the 2016 presidential election, Trump called out a Gold Star Muslim family and insinuated that the mother wasn't talking because she was Muslim."If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me," Trump said in an interview with ABC News in July.
  3. In May 2016, Trump said that federal judge Gonzalo Curiel couldn't hear the Trump University case fairly because he's Mexican. "We're building a wall between here and Mexico. The answer is, He is giving us very unfair rulings—rulings that people can't even believe," he said.
  4. Before his career as a politician, Trump allegedly wouldn't rent to black people back in the 1970s. This led to his company being sued twice by the Justice Department for discrimination.
  5. Trump retweeted an anti-Semitic meme.
  6. He was called a racist in November after he said this to Navajo Code Talkers: "I just want to thank you because you're very, very special people. You were here long before any of us were here, although we have a representative in Congress who, they say, was here a long time ago. They call her 'Pocahontas.' But you know what, I like you because you are special. You are special people."
  7. Trump claimed that President Barack Obama was not born in the United States.
  8. When Trump addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition in December 2015, he called himself "a negotiator like you folks," which many people said brought up Jewish stereotypes.
  9. Trump once said, "Laziness is a trait in blacks. It really is, I believe that," according to John R. O'Donnell, author of the 1991 book Trumped!
  10. The president blamed "many sides" for neo-Nazi violence last year.
  11. Trump retweeted anti-Muslim propaganda from a far-right British group last November.
  12. During the 2016 presidential election, Trump pointed to a black man and said, "Look at my African-American over there."
  13. He retweeted false statistics about white homicide victims after a black activist was kicked and punched at one of Trump's rallies in Alabama.
  14. Trump asked African-American reporter April Ryan to set up a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus. Prior to this exchange, he said that many African-Americans were "living in hell," in reference to conditions in inner cities, Politico reported.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Christianna Silva is a staff writer for Newsweek covering civil rights with a focus on LGBT issues and police brutality. ... Read more

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go