Speaking with CNN, NAACP President Derrick Johnson has admitted what most of America seems to agree on, that President Donald Trump is clearly a racist. Johnson has revealed that "we know he's a racist, he's demonstrated that;" however, he also notes how "we just have to be careful not to get so caught up in his words."
These remarks came directly in response to the news that alleges Trump called Haiti, El Salvador, and other African nations "shithole countries" during a Thursday's closed-door Oval Office meeting regarding immigration. The POTUS supposedly asked members of congress in attendance "why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" which has since sparked outrage based on these insensitive comments.
Johnson believes that these comments bear a similar rhetoric to discussions on immigration that occurred during the 50s and 60s, which were meant as a rallying call to "energize the base" before the 2018 midterm elections. He then goes on to flatly proclaim how Trump is a "racist both in his actions and his words," denouncing a previous CNN interview which saw the highly contested president identify himself as "the least racist person that you've ever met."
Trump has admitted that his language during the meeting has harsh, but denies ever having uttered the words "shithole countries" while engaging in this political exchange. However, Georgia congressman and civil rights activist Rep. John Lewis found Trump's undignified comments to be "unbelievable" and will be skipping out on the president's upcoming State of Union address.
