President Donald Trump has denied the intention to "humiliate the citizens of Haiti," saying he described the country as "the poor and the troubled." He stressed that he did not call for the "expulsion of the Haitians" from the United States, and described what he said was "fabricated".
Trump said he had "wonderful relations" with Haitians.
At a meeting Thursday with senators to discuss an agreement on new amendments to immigration laws, some participants claimed that Trump described some of the countries from which migrants came to his country as a "pit of filth."
The meeting was looking at amendments to immigration laws in exchange for avoiding the expulsion of thousands of young people who arrived as children to the United States.
According to The Washington Post, Trump questioned during the meeting, which was attended by Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Doreen, about why people "dig dirty" into the United States.
The newspaper said the president was referring to African countries, Haiti and El Salvador, but Trump denied making such statements.
Sen. Dorin told a news conference the president had repeatedly used "hate words" several times in the Oval Office.
Dwayne's remarks caused a storm of controversy. US representatives in Haiti and Botswana have been called in for clarifications, according to the State Department.
Undersecretary Steve Goldstein announced that instructions were given to the ministry's staff to reiterate the great respect for Africans and the people of all countries.
He stressed that the United States' answer would be "categorical negation" if you asked local governments whether Washington considered them "scum states."
Goldstein did not want to comment on the content of the remarks attributed to Trump, merely recalling that the US president denied it in part on Friday. He said that "explaining the words of the President of the United States" is not the task of American diplomats.
Trump said on Friday he did not use the offensive language, which also angered the United Nations and prompted him to describe his speech as "racist." "The tone I used was harsh but I did not use those words," he wrote.
The State Department said today that it deeply respects partnership with all African countries.
However, Republican Rep. Mia Loew, a Haitian, criticized the president and asked him to apologize.
"The president's statements are not nice, they cause divisions, they are contrary to the values of our nation, and they are unacceptable to our nation's leader," Loew said.
Republican Senator Elena Ross warned that Trump's remarks endangered lives and wrote on Twitter that the phrase "go back to the pits" was not written on the base of the American Statue of Liberty.
According to The Washington Post, Trump wants to receive Norwegian citizens in the United States, instead of the poor.
But what Trump is saying publicly is that he wants to create an immigration system based on attracting talent to the United States.
Trump said the immigration system should bring people who take the United States to a new level.
Although he criticized Trump's remarks, Republican Sen. Jeb Bush, son of former President George W. Bush and brother of President George W. Bush, agreed with the US president on the need for a new immigration law.
The White House sharply criticized "politicians who defend the interests of other nations more than the interests of the United States."
"The president will accept the immigration law only if he acknowledges that the lot of visa and serial immigration has hurt the US economy and allowed terrorists to enter the United States," the spokesman said.
Trump supporters opposed the recent campaign against him.
"The elite hysteria against Trump's painful and realistic statements suggests that they will be the first to abandon America, the greatest country in the world," said media journalist Sebastien Gorka.
Dan Bongino said he was "fed up" by directing friendly leaders "cheap blows to the US president, and thus to America."
He called on leaders of those countries to remember that the United States "buried its soldiers on the shores of those countries," and "emptied its treasury to defend democracy."