In the wake of shifting stories by GOP lawmakers over whether President Donald Trump called African nations "shitholes" last week, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) stood by his original account of the remarks on Monday and said he is "stunned" by Republican denials while scoffing at reports the term "shithouse" was what the president actually said.
"I know what happened. I stand behind every word that I said," Durbin told a gathering of reporters. "I don't know that changing the word from 'hole' to 'house' changes the impact."
Asked if it was possible that Trump said "shithouse" and not "shithole," as some have claimed, Durbin answered with a decisive "no."
"I stick with my original interpretation," Durbin said.
As Common Dreams reported on Friday, Durbin told reporters that media coverage of Trump's comments during the Thursday meeting is entirely accurate, and that the president used "vile" and "hate-filled" words to describe Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations "repeatedly."
Durbin went on to say on Monday that if the White House recorded the meeting last week, it should release the tapes.
Watch:
Sen Durbin this morning stands by his previous comments about what Pres Trump said in DACA meeting pic.twitter.com/AAgCEfBCJW
— Tony Arnold (@tonyjarnold) January 15, 2018
