New Debate: Did Trump Really Use a Different Vulgarity?

Some are now saying he said 'shithouse' on Thursday
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 15, 2018 6:03 AM CST
Updated Jan 15, 2018 6:40 AM CST
New Debate: Did Trump Really Use a Different Vulgarity?
In this Jan. 10, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump listens during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

There's a new flavor of debate regarding President Trump's alleged "shithole" comment: whether he actually said a different word that begins with s-h-i-t. Rich Lowry of the National Review appeared on ABC's This Week on Sunday and said his sources say Trump referred to Haiti, El Salvador, and African countries as "shithouse countries" on Thursday. "My understanding from the meeting is he used a different but very closely related vulgarity," Mediaite reports Lowry as saying, and it suggests that the GOP senators who have issued denials around Trump's use of "shithole" are "hanging their hat" on the technicality. Mashable points out that Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post tweeted much the same thing Sunday night.

"White House official told me tonight there is debate internally on whether Trump said 'shithole' or 'shithouse.' Perdue and Cotton seem to have heard latter, this person said, and are using to deny," he wrote. Whatever the word, South Africa is not pleased. CNN reports that the country will issue a diplomatic protest Monday, and Under Secretary of State Steve Goldstein confirmed that high-ranking diplomats in South Africa and Ghana had been called for government meetings Monday. Reuters reports the No. 2 US official at the embassy will be asked to "explain the statement," per a statement given to the media Sunday that also noted "South Africa aligns itself with the statements issued by the African Union." Meanwhile, Trump on Sunday told reporters he is the "least racist person you have ever interviewed." (More President Trump stories.)

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