During an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, Senator Dick Durbin told the tale of what exactly happened in the White House last week and why Trump's remarks caused such a stir. According to Durbin, Senator Lindsey Graham took great offense to Trump's use of the word "shithole" to describe the countries immigrants were leaving.
Durbin described his positioning in the room as being just to the left of Graham, with Graham sitting closer to Trump. When Trump made his "shithole" comment, Graham turned to him and addressed it directly and immediately, according to Durbin.
"Well, he basically went through it and said, 'Let me tell you, Mr. President, this America is not about where you came from, it is an idea. It is an ideal. People come here, aspiring to be part of America's future,'" Durbin recounted.
Emphasizing why Graham used the word, he continued "And he said my family was from one of those s-hole countries. He used the word himself."
In DHS Secretary Kirsten Nielsen's testimony this morning, she tacitly admitted that all of it was true. While it's true that she could not recall use of that specific word, she also admitted that Senator Graham used profanity, which fits exactly with what Durbin recalled to Tapper.
Combine that with the fact that Trump was on the phone bragging to his buds about it, and it's more or less an established fact. To be honest, I'm not sure why the White House is trying to wiggle out of it now, given that it was a clear base play.
The more aggravating piece of all the sound and fury is this: We are hurtling toward a government shutdown because some hateful nativists in our government are playing the Dotard Trump hard. Between the Chief of Staff and the Secretary of Homeland Security, there is a concerted effort underway to destroy a bipartisan agreement to protect DACA recipients.
It looks like Congress is going to need to do their damn jobs for a change. There should be enough votes to deliver a veto-proof majority to Trump, compelling him to either sign it or send it for an override.
