NATION/WORLD Saturday, January 13, 2018 East Oregonian Page 9A ‘Reprehensible and racist:’ Trump’s remarks outrage the world JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Africans were shocked on Friday to find President Donald Trump had finally taken an interest in their continent. But it wasn’t what people had hoped for. Using vulgar language, Trump on Thursday questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and “shithole countries” in Africa rather than places like Norway in rejecting a bipartisan immigration deal. On Friday he denied using that language. The African Union continental body told The Associated Press it was “frankly alarmed” by Trump’s comments. “Given the historical reality of how many Africans arrived in the United States as slaves, this state- ment flies in the face of all accepted behavior and practice,” AU spokes- woman Ebba Kalondo said. Some African governments found themselves in an awkward position. As top recipients of U.S. aid, some hesitated to jeopardize it by criticizing Trump, especially as his administration has sought to slash foreign assistance. “Unless it was specifically said about South Sudan, we have nothing to say,” a South Sudan government spokesman told the AP. But Botswana’s government called Trump’s comment “repre- hensible and racist,” saying the U.S. ambassador had been summoned to clarify whether the country was regarded so poorly after years of cordial relations. Senegal’s President Macky Sall said he was shocked and that “Africa and the black race merit the respect and consideration of all.” “Well, that is the perfect definition of racism. That is all I have to say.” — Wangui Muraguri, Kenyan entrepreneur AP Photo/Sunday Alamba Pedestrians shop in a roadside market in Lagos, Nigeria, Friday. Africans were shocked on Friday to find President Donald Trump on Thursday questioned why the U.S. would accept more immi- grants from Haiti and “shithole countries” in Africa rather than places like Norway in rejecting a bipartisan immigration deal. Both nations have been praised by the U.S. government as stable democracies in the region. South Africa’s ruling African National Congress called Trump’s comments “extremely offensive,” while opposition leader Mmusi Maimane said “the hatred of Obama’s roots now extends to an entire continent.” Uganda’s state minister for international relations, Henry Okello Oryem, called the remarks “unfortunate and regret- table” and hoped that heads of state will reply at an African Union summit later this month. African media outlets and the continent’s young, increasingly connected population were not shy, with some tweeting sleek photos of African landscapes and urban areas with the hashtag of the word. “Well, that is the perfect defini- tion of racism. That is all I have to say,” Kenyan entrepreneur Wangui Muraguri told the AP in response to Trump. “Casual Friday at the White House is soon to include hoods and tiki torches at this rate,” South African media outlet Daily Maverick wrote. Trump’s comments were “shocking and shameful” and “I’m sorry, but there’s no other word one can use but racist,” said a spokesman for the U.N. human rights office, Rupert Colville. Many on the world’s second most populous continent reached for their smartphones, long-prac- ticed in defending it from easy stereotypes. While 40 percent of the world’s poor live in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the Interna- tional Monetary Fund, the region also has billionaires, reality shows and a growing middle class. The World Bank on Friday tweeted that sub-Saharan Africa’s economic growth this year is forecast at 3.2 percent. That was the U.S. economy’s annual rate of growth from July through September, according to Commerce Department data last month. Some in Africa decided to own Trump’s vulgar language or throw it back in his face. “Good morning from the greatest most beautiful ‘shithole country’ in the world!!!” South African Broad- casting Corporation anchor Leanne Manas tweeted. “As someone from South Shithole, Trevor is deeply offended by the president’s remarks,” The Daily Show tweeted of its South African-born host, Trevor Noah. Others said they thought Trump had a point, in a way. “Trump is absolutely right,” said Mamady Traore, a 30-year-old sociologist in Guinea. “When you have heads of state who mess with the constitutions to perpet- uate their power. When you have rebel factions that kill children, disembowel women as saints, who mutilate innocent civilians.” In Kenya, East Africa’s economic hub, political activist Boniface Mwangi pleaded: “Please don’t confuse the ... leaders we Africans elect with our beautiful continent.” He later told the AP that “Africa gave America the greatest president ever” in Barack Obama. “It is actually a disgrace for one of the best men to occupy that office to be succeeded by an idiot.” Trump’s comments highlighted months of concerns about his lack of focus on Africa, including empty ambassadorial posts in key countries like South Africa, Egypt, Congo and Somalia. A list maintained by the Washington-based American Foreign Service Association says eight such posts are vacant. The U.S. president is only hurting himself both at home and abroad, some Africans said. “He has not only insulted Africans, he has also insulted African-Americans,” said Sylvester Odion Akhaine, associate professor of international relations at the Lagos State University in Nigeria. “Internationally, such language will deepen the isolation of the United States, a country that is already losing its global prestige.” One lawmaker in Ghana called for a boycott by developing coun- tries against the United States until Trump leaves office. “The sooner he is made aware that America needs the world and the world needs America the better it is for all of us,” Ras Mubarak said. BRIEFLY Report: Trump lawyer brokered $130,000 payment to porn star WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer brokered a $130,000 payment to a porn star to prevent her from publicly discussing an alleged sexual encounter with Trump, according to a report Friday in The Wall Street Journal. Trump met Stephanie Clifford, who goes by the name Stormy Daniels in films, at a golf event in 2006 — a year after Trump’s marriage to his wife, Melania. According to the Journal’s report, Clifford began talking with ABC News in the fall of 2016 for a story involving an alleged relationship with Trump, but reached a $130,000 deal a month before the election, which prevented her from going public. Trump’s longtime attorney Michael Cohen arranged for the payment through Clifford’s lawyer, Keith Davidson, the Journal reported. In a statement to the Journal, Cohen did not address his role in negotiating the supposed payment but said Trump denies any such relationship with Clifford. Clifford has previously denied an alleged relationship with Trump. On Friday afternoon, the White House issued a statement calling the Journal’s story “old, recycled reports, which were published and strongly denied prior to the election.” Cohen also accused the Journal of perpetuating “a false narrative for over a year.” Just days before the 2016 election, the Journal E ! R ’ U ED! O Y IT NEW CEO V IN Thursday, January 18 5pm-6:30pm MEET & GREET published a story stating that the National Enquirer — run by David Pecker, a fervid supporter of Trump — had paid $150,000 to silence former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal about a sexual relationship she allegedly had with Trump. White House doctor: Trump in ‘excellent health’ WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s White House physician declared him in “excellent health” after the president received his first medical checkup at Walter Reed military hospital on Friday, undergoing a physical examination amid suggestions in a recent book and by his detractors that he’s mentally unfit. Dr. Ronny Jackson, in a statement released by the White House, said the examination “went exceptionally well. The President is in excellent health and I look forward to briefing some of the details on Tuesday.” Trump spent about three hours at the medical facility in Bethesda, Maryland, outside Washington, for the Friday checkup, his first as president, before departing for Florida for the weekend. The fairly routine exam for previous presidents has taken on outsized importance in the age of Trump, given the tone of some of his tweets, comments attributed to some of his close advisers and Trump’s recent slurring of words on national TV. SHOP ONLINE 24/7 FORDCOUNTRY.COM YOUR LOCAL FORD TRUCK HEADQUARTERS 595 NW 11th St., Hermiston Lifeways, Inc. announces the hiring of Tim Hoekstra, MS, MBA, as the new CEO as of January 15, 2018. Tim will oversee Lifeways Divisions in Hermiston, Pendleton, Umatilla, Milton-Freewater and Ontario, Oregon. 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