The U.S. Embassy in Haiti’s capital of Port-au-Prince was forced to close Monday afternoon after demonstrators took to the streets to protest President Trump’s alleged “sh—hole” comments disparaging the Caribbean nation.
Protesters were met with tear gas rounds fired by Haitian police as they descended on the heavily shielded embassy, The Associated Press reported. The embassy closed for the rest of the day and directed employees to keep away during the demonstration.
Many of the protesters carried posters of the U.S. president with an anus where his mouth was supposed to be, Reuters reported. Some threw rocks at police.
“Trump is a vulgar racist, and a racist is a very poor-minded person,” demonstrator Marvel Joseph told Reuters. “We don’t feel any resentment against the American people, who we know largely disapprove of Trump’s behavior in the White House.”
The protesters were reacting to reports that Mr. Trump referred to Haiti, El Salvador, and African nations as “sh—hole countries” during a Oval Office meeting on immigration earlier this month. Mr. Trump has denied using that language and insisted that he is not racist.
Haiti’s government condemned the alleged remarks, as did Haiti’s ambassador to the United States Paul Altidor, Reuters reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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