You were expecting Ralph Bunche?
by Tom Sullivan
Haiti is taking steps to register formal outrage over Oval Office remarks by the sitting president that Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations are "shithole countries," arguing that the United States should bring in more immigrants from Norway instead.
After her good night's sleep, Sarah Huckabee will be no doubt in championship form in her daily briefing. Nothing to see here, folks.
Exclusive: Trump attacks protections for immigrants from "shithole" countries in Oval Office meeting https://t.co/R1aOB8EAGB
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 11, 2018
After breaking the story yesterday, the Washington Post reports this morning on how, because the statement came from the President of the United States, media outlets (the Post included) have shunned their usual decorum and instead are running the quote unedited:
Such a comment made by the president, especially in front of several witnesses, is newsworthy, no matter how reprehensible it may be, said Ben Zimmer, a linguist and lexicographer who writes a language column in The Wall Street Journal.MSNBC ran it as a Breaking News banner last night.
“It was incumbent on media outlets to present what he said without extradition or euphemization,” he said.
“This is beyond unbefitting of the presidency, which it is. This is beyond not presidential, this is beyond ‘oh, the big tent Republican party dream has died,'” Daily Beast’s editor-in-chief John Avalon told CNN's Jake Tapper. “This is straight up racist.”"This is beyond unbefitting, this is beyond unpresidential...this is straight up racist...we can't sugarcoat it" pic.twitter.com/qV4VfkwiL3
— Leanne Naramore (@LeanneNaramore) January 11, 2018