Letters to the Editor: Trump said something racist about Haitians. It wasn’t his first time

To the editor: With the subject of Haitian immigrants coming up in the presidential debate, there is another connection between that country and Donald Trump that seems relevant now. (“Trump’s Haitian immigrant comments create a storm in Florida,” Sept. 13)

On Jan. 11, 2018, then-President Trump had a meeting in the White House with a bipartisan group of senators. The subject was immigration. At some point in the meeting, Trump called Haiti and African nations “shithole countries.” The next day he denied using those words. No senators in the room at that meeting denied the president used those words.

Buried under Trump’s invective, of course, is a legitimate debate on immigration. But of all the rhetorical options he could have used, the president chose language that invited acrimony. I can see no justifiable upside to starting fights with other countries.

More broadly, this points to his misuse of the political capital that comes with the U.S. presidency. That capital belongs to American citizens. With his careless remarks, the president depleted that account and shrunk our standing in the world.

We should expect, and can get, better leadership than this.

Paul Skophammer, Malibu

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To the editor: The Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, are not here illegally. They have temporary protected status. They are not eating people’s pets. They are working. Surely Trump and vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) know this.

The Haitians are refugees — the tired, hungry and poor, just like it says on the Statue of Liberty. If you practice Christianity, then you must believe that these people who came here seeking a home are our brothers and sisters. And we should give them protection.

By maligning them in such a mean way and knowing that their followers will believe any crazy lie he tells them, Trump and Vance place these people in harm’s way. If we give Trump back the power of the presidency, he can harm these refugees who have come here seeking protection, and he would not be held legally accountable if he breaks the law doing so, because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.

Alba Farfaglia, San Clemente