Story highlights
The President used a vulgar term to refer to certain countries
He's made racially charged remarks in the past
President Donald Trump’s stunning remarks decrying the migration of citizens from “shithole countries” weren’t the first time he’s made comments widely considered disparaging to ethnic and racial groups.
Here are other instances when Trump seemed to belittle people’s backgrounds:
Latinos
During a June 2015 speech announcing his candidacy, Trump referred to some Mexican immigrants as “rapists.”
“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best,” Trump said. “They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
Two days after becoming the presumptive Republican nominee in 2016, Trump tweeted a picture of himself enjoying a taco bowl on Cinco De Mayo, a Mexican holiday.
The tweet read: “Happy #CincoDeMayo! The best taco bowls are made in Trump Tower Grill. I love Hispanics!”
Muslims
Trump on the campaign trail in December 2015 called for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” positing that immigration from Muslim-majority nations threatens security in the United States, as well as in Europe.
That notion has underpinned the series of travel bans his administration has implemented.
Trump also made widely discredited claims that American Muslims celebrated the attacks on September 11, 2001, in New Jersey.
As a candidate, he said he would consider surveillance of mosques and shutting some down, and suggested establishing a national database to register Muslims.
Late last year, Trump retweeted three inflammatory videos from a British far-right account rife with anti-Muslim content.
African-Americans
In an attempt to tout his support among African-Americans, then-candidate Trump pointed to a black man in a crowd at June 2016 rally in California and called him “my African-American.”
“Oh, look at my African-American over here. Look at him,” Trump said. “Are you the greatest?”
Gregory Cheadle, then a GOP California congressional candidate, said he was the supporter to whom Trump pointed. Cheadle said the comment didn’t offend him.
The President’s remark came as he recalled an incident earlier that year when a black supporter of his assaulted a white protester who was being escorted out of an Arizona rally by police.
During an August 2016 campaign stop, Trump argued that African-Americans have been struggling and taken for granted by the Democratic Party, and should consider voting for him in the November general election.
“You’re living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58% of your youth is unemployed – what the hell do you have to lose?” Trump told a crowd in Michigan.
Native Americans
During a November 2017 event at the White House honoring World War II Navajo Code Talkers, Trump referred to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren by his nickname for her, Pocahontas.
“I just want to thank you because you are very, very special people. You were here long before any of us were here,” Trump said. “Although, we have a representative in Congress who has been here a long time … longer than you – they call her Pocahontas!”
The President then turned to the Code Talkers behind him and said to one man: “But you know what, I like you. You are special people.”
The President didn’t name Warren in his remarks.
Conservatives have previously criticized Warren for claiming she is part Native American, and Warren’s heritage became an issue during her Senate campaigns. Pocahontas was a 17th-century historical figure, and using her name in an intentionally disparaging way insults native peoples and degrades their cultures.
Asians
Trump long has boasted about his ability to negotiate, and he’s said he’d use his deal-making skills to rewrite trade deals with China and East Asia.
During a campaign event in 2015, he used broken English to impersonate Asian negotiators.
“When these people walk into the room, they don’t say, ‘Oh hello, how’s the weather? It’s so beautiful outside. How are the Yankees doing? They’re doing wonderful, that’s great,’” Trump said at an event in Iowa. “They say, ‘We want deal!’”
This story has been updated to reflect additional reporting.
CNN’s Tal Kopan, Dan Merica, Tom LoBianco, Ashley Killough and Jeremy Diamond contributed to this report.
