Trump Admits He Called Haiti and African Nations 'Shithole Countries' — Repeats Insult at Rally

President Donald Trump told a Pennsylvania rally audience that he used the phrase “shithole countries” to describe Haiti and several African nations during a 2018 Oval Office meeting, and he repeated disparaging remarks about Somalia.

What He Said

“We had a meeting and I said, ‘Why is it we only take people from shithole countries? Why can’t we have some people from Norway, Sweden?’ But we always take people from Somalia. Places that are a disaster. Filthy, dirty, disgusting, ridden with crime.”

Trump recounted the episode after telling supporters he had recently “announced a permanent pause on Third World migration, including from hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries.” An audience member shouted the 2018 phrase back to him, prompting the president to repeat the line without apparent remorse.

Background And Earlier Denial

When the reports of the Oval Office remark first surfaced in 2018, the White House did not explicitly deny the account, but Mr. Trump tweeted the next day that “this was not the language I used” and insisted he had “never said anything derogatory about Haitians.” The original reports provoked widespread condemnation at the time.

President Donald Trump reaches out to a supporter after speaking at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pa., Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

International And Political Fallout

Lawmakers from both parties criticized the 2018 comments as racist because they targeted predominantly Black nations while advocating for more migration from predominantly white countries. The remarks prompted diplomatic rebukes: Botswana summoned the U.S. ambassador, and Senegal’s President Macky Sall said he was shocked and emphasized that “Africa and the Black race merit the respect and consideration of all.”

Part Of A Broader Pattern

The episode fits a pattern of coarse rhetoric that has characterized much of Mr. Trump’s public speech. This year, he has used the F-word on camera on two separate occasions. On Thanksgiving he used an outdated slur to describe Minnesota Governor Tim Walz in social media posts about immigration; when asked whether he stood by the comment, Trump replied, “Yeah. I think there’s something wrong with him.”

The admission and repetition of the 2018 phrase at a campaign rally underscore ongoing diplomatic and political ramifications from comments that many leaders and lawmakers condemned as offensive and demeaning.