Haitians, numbering in the hundreds, marched to Trump Tower in New York City on Friday to protest President Trump for reportedly disparaging their home country earlier this month.
Marching across the Brooklyn Bridge to Trump Tower, located in Manhattan, Haitians and Haitian-Americans proudly waved their flags, danced along to drums and horns, and chanted to show their anger towards the president.
The president was not home at the time of the demonstration. He was at the White House as Washington comes to grips with a partial government shutdown.
During an immigration meeting with lawmakers two weeks ago, Trump reportedly referred to Haiti and multiple African nations as “shithole countries” and questioned why the U.S. would want more Haitians. Reports of which countries Trump may have been referring to with his “shithole” remark, though he did admit using “tough” language. Trump has denied making the statement, and lawmakers in attendance have offered varying recollections of what he said.
Further igniting the situation with Haitians, the Department of Homeland Security revealed last week it plans to prohibit Haitians from applying for certain temporary visas.
“I am here with my fellow Haitians, and also our fellow Africans, to tell Trump he’s wrong the way he thinks about us,” one Haitian priest participating in the protest told the New York Daily News.
“We bring a lot to this country, and he needs to be fair to us. He needs to be a leader with heart, not the kind of racist leader he has been showing us he is,” he continued.
Another social worker from Brooklyn told the outlet: “We have a President in power who knows no history and seems to have no education, who just disrespects any and everybody in the world.”
No arrests were made at the demonstration.
