Trump says he’s not a racist. But if he is, Malcolm is too

AS DONALD Trump continues to face criticism over his “s**thole” comment, one of his allies has dragged the PM into the debate

AMERICA’S Homeland Security chief says anyone who brands US President Donald Trump a racist would also have to deem Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull a racist.

Kirstjen Nielsen on Sunday said the merit-based immigration system Mr Trump wants to introduce is the “exact” same as Australia and Canada have.

Mr Trump has been condemned in the US and across the globe for reportedly labelling Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as “s***holes” and suggesting the US should accept more people from countries such as Norway.

“I take a little bit of offence to the comments and suggestions that the president is racist,” Ms Nielsen said during an interview on Fox News Sunday in the US.

Mr Trump later defended himself even more vehemently, telling reporters: “I am not a racist. I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed. That I can tell you.” when he was asked about remarks he reportedly made during the Oval Office meeting.

Ms Nielsen says what Mr Trump is looking at is the same as the merit-based system used in Australia and Canada.

“I’m sure that we are not, any of us, suggesting that Canada and Australia and their leaders are racists,” she said.

When interviewer Chris Wallace responded that Mr Trump “seems to be suggesting you’d rather have a janitor from Norway than a doctor from Haiti”, Ms Nielsen disagreed.

“I think what he’s trying to do is move away from a quota based system, whether that’s a quota of under-represented countries or a quota of Norway, for example,” Ms Nielsen said.

“I think what he’s trying to say is we need to look at the individual and ensure that we look at those who can bring merit to our country.”

Donald Trump and Malcolm Turnbull at last year’s ASEAN Summit. Picture: AFP/Jim Watson

The Homeland Security secretary was in the Oval Office on Thursday when Mr Trump allegedly uttered “s***hole” in front of Democrat and Republican members of Congress while discussing a potential bipartisan immigration deal. Mr Trump denied making the comment.

Ms Nielsen, like the Republicans in the Oval Office, refused to confirm or deny Mr Trump’s use of “s***hole”.

“I don’t recall him saying that exact phrase,” Ms Nielsen said.

Republican Senator Lindsay Graham did release a statement saying he confronted Mr Trump about his disparaging remarks, although he did not explicitly confirm the president used “s***hole”.

Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, a key negotiator in immigration talks, told reporters the president used the word.

But Republican senator David Perdue is insisting Trump did not use the vulgar term, saying the reports describing the President using vile language in the meeting a “gross misrepresentation”.

He said Durbin and Graham were mistaken in indicating that was the case.

Perdue said on Sunday on ABC’s “This Week: “I am telling you that he did not use that word. And I’m telling you it’s a gross misrepresentation.”

Originally published as Trump says he’s not a racist. But if he is, Malcolm is too