January 12, 2018 11:46 AM UTC

Shithole! Shithole! Shithole!

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• by: Colorado Pols

“Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?”

This is what President Trump allegedly said at the White House on Thursday during a meeting with lawmakers about immigration policy. Trump’s comments are causing quite a backlash all over the world, and this morning the President began his inevitable denial about saying the thing that he almost certainly said.

Trump supporters are going to fall in line with the Twitterer-in-Chief in labeling this some sort of fake news attack, but for those of you with the ability to form your own opinions, CNN’s Chris Cillizza makes a very strong argument for why you should believe the shithole:

Almost immediately after The Washington Post broke the news on Thursday night, White House spokesman Raj Shah was out with a statement that not only seemed to confirm that Trump had said what he said but also worked to defend it…

…Then, soon after Shah’s comment, came this from an anonymous White House official to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, “The President’s ‘shithole’ remark is being received much differently inside of the White House than it is outside of it. Though this might enrage Washington, staffers predict the comment will resonate with his base, much like his attacks on NFL players who kneel during the National Anthem did not alienate it.”

According to Collins, Trump spent Thursday evening making calls to friends and associated to gauge how they believed the “shithole countries” story was playing. One White House official told Collins that Trump’s calls amounted to a “victory lap.” [Pols emphasis]

If Trump had really not used the word “shithole” (or something very like it), then why would the White House not come out and issue a blanket denial and a condemnation of the reporting? Why, rather than doing that, would they issue a statement that sought to own his “shithole countries” comment and make political hay out of it?

The answer, of course, is because he said it.

Let’s pause and reflect for a moment on the fact that we are actually having a discussion about whether or not THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES used the word “shithole” to describe other countries in a meeting with Congressional leaders. That this is even a subject of debate speaks volumes about the White House.