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The Journal Gazette

  • President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Fla., Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, to travel to Washington. Trump spent the holiday weekend at Mar-a-Lago, his club in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

  • President Donald Trump with first lady Melania Trump waves as he returns to the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. Trump spent the holiday weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

  • Haitian community members protest near President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Trump is defending himself anew against accusations that he is racist, this time after recent disparaging comments about Haiti and African nations. The group said they were there to demand an apology from the Trump. (Damon Higgins/Palm Beach Post via AP)

  • A President Donald Trump supporter, left, confronts a fellow Trump supporter, right, who was speaking on a bullhorn, to stop being disrespectful and spewing hate Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, as local Haitians march in protest of Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla. Trump is defending himself anew against accusations that he is racist, this time after recent disparaging comments about Haiti and African nations. (Damon Higgins/Palm Beach Post via AP)

  • A woman shouts during a rally against racism in opposition to President Donald Trump's recent disparaging comments about Haiti and African nations in Times Square in New York, on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

  • Haitian community members hold an image depicting image shows from left, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and President Donald Trump during a protest near Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate Monday, Jan. 15, 2018, in West Palm Beach, Fla. Trump is defending himself anew against accusations that he is racist, this time after recent disparaging comments about Haiti and African nations. The group said they were there to demand an apology from the Trump. (Damon Higgins/Palm Beach Post via AP)

Tuesday, January 16, 2018 11:49 am

The Latest: Durbin stands by account of Trump profanity

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):

10:40 a.m.

Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin is standing by his description of last week's White House immigration meeting at which he and others have said President Donald Trump described African nations with a profanity.

Asked Tuesday about Trump and some Republicans challenging his honesty, Durbin tells reporters, "Politics ain't beanbag. I understand that. But I'll tell you this: I stand by every word I said about what was said and what happened."

The Illinois Democrat says he and a handful of other senators who crafted a bipartisan immigration deal are working to win over additional supporters.

Trump and some Republicans have said the senators' agreement is insufficient.

Durbin says he wants Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to let the Senate debate the immigration measure this week as lawmakers try figuring out by Friday how to avoid a government shutdown.

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9:15 a.m.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says President Donald Trump is "not going to apologize for trying to fix our immigration system," as the fall-out continues from Trump's reported use of a vulgarity to describe some African countries.

Sanders tells reporters that Trump "hasn't said he didn't use strong language" in the meeting with bipartisan in the heated immigration debate last week. He was said to have used "shithole" to describe some nations in Africa.

Responding to Democrats' assertions that Trump's comments were "racist," Sanders calls the claim "outrageous," citing their previous embrace of Trump. She said: "Why did NBC give him a show for a decade on TV. Why did Chuck Schumer and all of his colleagues come and beg Donald Trump for money?"

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12:30 a.m.

President Donald Trump tweets that Sen. Dick Durbin misrepresented what he had said about African nations and Haiti and, in the process, undermined the trust needed to make a deal.

Several people who were at the meeting last week or familiar with the discussions, said Trump disparaged those countries in vulgar, racially tinged terms.

Without explicitly denying using the vulgarity, Trump on Monday lashed out at the Democratic senator, who said Trump uttered it on several occasions.

Durbin said Monday the White House should release whatever recording it might have of the meeting.