Once they have seen the United States, Nigerians will never "go back to their huts" in Africa - Trump

WASHINGTON - Late in his own meeting and waving a sheet of numbers, President Trump stormed the Oval Office one day in June, clearly enraged.

Five months earlier, Mr. Trump had sent federal agents to the nation's airports to prevent travelers from several Muslim countries from entering the United States in a dramatic demonstration of how he would fulfill his campaign promise to fortify the country's borders.

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But so many foreigners had invaded the country since January, he got rid of his national security team, which was making fun of his promise. Friends called to say he looked like a fool, said Trump.

According to six officials who attended or were informed about the meeting, Mr. Trump then began to read aloud the document, which his internal policy adviser, Stephen Miller, had given him just before the meeting. The document listed how many immigrants had received visas to enter the United States in 2017.

More than 2,500 were from Afghanistan, a terrorist refuge, the president complained.

Haiti sent 15,000 people. Everyone "has AIDS," he grumbled, according to one person who attended the meeting and another person who was informed by a different person who was there.


Forty thousand were coming from Nigeria, Trump added. Once they had seen the United States, they would never "go back to their cabins" in Africa, recalled the two officials, who requested anonymity to discuss a delicate conversation in the Oval Office.

As the meeting continued, John F. Kelly, then secretary of internal security, and Rex W. Tillerson, the secretary of state, tried to intervene, explaining that many were short-term travelers who made one-time visits. But as the president continued, Mr. Kelly and Mr. Miller threw their anger at Mr. Tillerson, blaming him for the influx of foreigners and causing the Secretary of State to raise her arms in frustration. If he was so bad at his job, maybe he should stop issuing visas altogether, Mr. Tillerson counterattacked.

The spirits flashed and Mr. Kelly asked that the staff room be cleared. But even after the door to the Oval Office was closed, attendees could still hear the president reprimand his most important advisers.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, denied on Saturday morning that Mr. Trump had made pejorative statements about immigrants during the meeting.

"General Kelly, General McMaster, Secretary Tillerson, Secretary Nielsen and all other senior officials at the meeting deny these outrageous claims," ​​he said, referring to the current White House chief of staff, the national security adviser and the secretaries of state and national security. "It's sad and says the New York Times would print the lies of its anonymous 'sources' anyway."

While the White House did not deny the general description of the meeting, officials insisted strongly that Mr. Trump never used the words "AIDS" or "cabins" to describe people from any country. Several participants in the meeting told Times reporters that they did not remember the president using those words and did not think he would, but the two officials who described the comments considered them so important that they related them to other people at that time.

The meeting in June reflects Mr. Trump's visceral focus on a theme that defined his campaign and that has indelibly shaped the first year of his presidency.

WASHINGTON - Late in his own meeting and waving a sheet of numbers, President Trump stormed the Oval Office one day in June, clearly enraged.

Five months earlier, Mr. Trump had sent federal agents to the nation's airports to prevent travelers from several Muslim countries from entering the United States in a dramatic demonstration of how to fulfill their campaign promise to fortify the country's borders.

But many foreigners had invaded the country since January, he got rid of his national security team, which was making fun of his promise. Friends called to say he looked like a fool, said Trump.

According to six officials who attended or reported on the meeting, Mr. Trump began reading aloud the document, which his internal policy adviser, Stephen Miller, before the meeting. The document listed a few immigrants received visas to enter the United States in 2017.

More than 2,500 were from El Ha, a terrorist refuge, the president complained.

Haiti sent 15,000 people. Everyone "has AIDS," he grumbled, according to one person who attended the meeting and another person who was informed by a different person who was there.


Forty thousand came from Nigeria, including Trump. Once he had seen the United States, he never "returned to his cabins" in Africa, remembering the two officials, who requested anonymity for discussion a delicate conversation in the Oval Office.

As the meeting continued, John F. Kelly, then secretary of internal security, and Rex W. Tillerson, secretary of state, interrogation conversation, explaining that many were short-term travelers who made one-time visits. But Sister Kelly and Mr. Miller hurled their ire against Mr. Tillerson, blaming him for the influx of foreigners and causing the State Secretariat to raise its arms in frustration. If he was so bad at his job, as he would never stop issuing visas altogether, Mr. Tillerson counterattacked.

The spirits flashed and Mr. Kelly asked that the staff room be cleared. But even after the door of the Oval Office was closed, assistants not authorized to the president will reprimand their most important advisors.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, denied on Saturday morning that Mr. Trump made pejorative statements about the victims during the meeting.

"General Kelly, General McMaster, Secretary Tillerson, Secretary Nielsen and all other senior officials at the meeting deny these outrageous claims," ​​he said, referring to the current White House chief of staff, the national security adviser and the secretaries of state and national security. "It's sad and says that The New York Times prints the lies of its anonymous 'sources' in every way."

While the White House did not deny the general description of the meeting, officials insisted strongly that Mr. Trump never used the words "AIDS" or "cabins" to describe people from any country. Several participants in the meeting received messages from the journalists of the Times who did not remember that the president used those words and did not think they did, but the two officials who described the comments were so important that they related them to other people at that time.

The meeting in June reflects Mr. Trump's visceral focus on a theme that defined his campaign and that has indelibly shaped the first year of his presidency ...


SOURCE:  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/23/us/politics/trump-immigration.html