Sen. Michael Bennet
Michael Farrand BennetAvalanche of Democratic senators say Franken should resign GOP and Dems bitterly divided by immigration Schumer downplays shutdown chances over DACA fight MORE (D-Colo.) in a Sunday show interview stopped short of calling President Trump
Donald John TrumpHouse Democrat slams Donald Trump Jr. for ‘serious case of amnesia’ after testimony Skier Lindsey Vonn: I don’t want to represent Trump at Olympics Poll: 4 in 10 Republicans think senior Trump advisers had improper dealings with Russia MORE a racist, but said “there’s no question” that the president’s reported “shithole countries” comment is racist.
“I was raised not to call people racist on the theory that it was hard for them to be rehabilitated once you said that,” Bennet told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“But there’s no question what he said was racist. There’s no question what he said was un-American and completely unmoored from the facts.”
Trump has faced intense scrutiny and accusations of racism after The Washington Post reported that Trump disparaged several nations during a Thursday meeting with lawmakers at the White House.
“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?” Trump reportedly asked, referring to immigrants from African nations, Haiti and El Salvador.
The White House initially did not deny the comment, which came as lawmakers work on an immigration deal.
In a tweet on Friday morning, the president denied he said "anything derogatory about Haitians."
"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," the president tweeted.