Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Paul Ryan criticized US President Donald Trump on Friday over his allegedly insulting comments on immigrants coming from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries. Ryan referred to Trump's remarks as "very unfortunate, unhelpful," adding that America's diversity is "something to celebrate and a big part of our strength."
Earlier, Washington Post reported that Trump used vulgar language during a Thursday Oval Office meeting on immigration, arguing against restoring protections for people coming from aforementioned countries. However, Trump has since denied those allegations, claiming that even though his language during the meeting was tough, he did not use racial slurs. "Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said “take them out.” Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings - unfortunately, no trust!" Trump wrote on Twitter.
At the same time, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, who was present during the WH meeting, confirmed that Trump did make the alleged comments. "The president started tweeting this morning, denying that he used those words. It is not true. He said these hate-filled things, and he said them repeatedly ... I cannot believe that in the history of the White House, in that Oval Office, any president has spoken the words that I personally heard our president speak yesterday," Durbin stated.
