After President Trump reportedly asked lawmakers Thursday, "Why are we having all these people from sh*thole countries come here?" and then went on to say, "We should bring in more people from places like Norway," members of Congress, Republican and Democrat alike, mostly distanced themselves from the president.
Here's what some of them had to say:
Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Florida
It wasn't just the president whose comments were questionable, as far as Curbelo was concerned:
When the White House did not deny the president had made the comments, Curbelo demanded an apology from the president.
Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisconsin
In an interview with Fox News in New York, Duffy declined to defend the President and called his remarks "offensive." He's known to be a Trump ally and a critic of Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Duffy told Fox, "I can't put myself in the president's head. It's an unfortunate comment....I can't defend it. I don't think anybody can. I don't know where he wanted to go with it. ...I don't have good insight. It's a really hard spot to sit tonight to try to defend or analyze what [point] he is trying to make. Because it's offensive, I don't like it.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Illinois
"We now know that we have in the White House someone who could lead the Ku Klux Klan in the United States of America, somebody who could be the leader of the neo-Nazi," Gutierrez said of the president on MSNBC's "All in with Chris Hayes."
Congressional Hispanic Caucus
The group called Mr Trump's statement "shameful, abhorrent, unpresidental."
Congressional Black Caucus
The CBC opined that the sh*thole comments "are further proof that his Make America Great Again agenda is really a Make America White Again agenda."
Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma
"If these comments are accurate, they are disappointing. I would not talk about nations like this because the people of those countries are made in the image of God and have worth and human dignity. The United States should lead the world in respect for all people."
Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah
She called Mr. Trump's comments "unkind, divisive, elitist" and said they "fly in the face of our nation's values." Love called on the president to "apologize both to the American people and the nations he so wantonly maligned."
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
She said it was a "sad comment from Trump."
CBS News' Alan He and John Nolen contributed to this story
Congress reacts to Trump's "sh*thole countries" comment
/ CBS News
After President Trump reportedly asked lawmakers Thursday, "Why are we having all these people from sh*thole countries come here?" and then went on to say, "We should bring in more people from places like Norway," members of Congress, Republican and Democrat alike, mostly distanced themselves from the president.
Here's what some of them had to say:
Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Florida
It wasn't just the president whose comments were questionable, as far as Curbelo was concerned:
When the White House did not deny the president had made the comments, Curbelo demanded an apology from the president.
Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wisconsin
In an interview with Fox News in New York, Duffy declined to defend the President and called his remarks "offensive." He's known to be a Trump ally and a critic of Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Duffy told Fox, "I can't put myself in the president's head. It's an unfortunate comment....I can't defend it. I don't think anybody can. I don't know where he wanted to go with it. ...I don't have good insight. It's a really hard spot to sit tonight to try to defend or analyze what [point] he is trying to make. Because it's offensive, I don't like it.
Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Illinois
"We now know that we have in the White House someone who could lead the Ku Klux Klan in the United States of America, somebody who could be the leader of the neo-Nazi," Gutierrez said of the president on MSNBC's "All in with Chris Hayes."
Congressional Hispanic Caucus
The group called Mr Trump's statement "shameful, abhorrent, unpresidental."
Congressional Black Caucus
The CBC opined that the sh*thole comments "are further proof that his Make America Great Again agenda is really a Make America White Again agenda."
Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma
"If these comments are accurate, they are disappointing. I would not talk about nations like this because the people of those countries are made in the image of God and have worth and human dignity. The United States should lead the world in respect for all people."
Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah
She called Mr. Trump's comments "unkind, divisive, elitist" and said they "fly in the face of our nation's values." Love called on the president to "apologize both to the American people and the nations he so wantonly maligned."
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
She said it was a "sad comment from Trump."
CBS News' Alan He and John Nolen contributed to this story
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