--- description: John McCain called out President Trump on Twitter for his "shithole" comment, accusing him of not respecting the dignity of some immigrants title: John McCain Decries Donald Trump's 'Shithole' Comment image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb01d1a092000ae3f/6988f808cf40a82f8ac4aec3/gettyimages-903922140.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Donald Trump](/tag/donald-trump/) ## Donald Trump Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # John McCain Decries Donald Trump's 'Shithole' Comment  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 12, 2018 7:43 PM CUT  U.S. President Donald Trump leads a prison reform roundtable in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, on Jan. 11, 2018 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Donald Trump leads a prison reform roundtable in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, on Jan. 11, 2018 in Washington, DC.Mark Wilson—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 12, 2018 7:43 PM CUT Arizona Sen. John McCain called out President Trump on Twitter for his [“shithole” comment](http://time.com/5100741/dick-durbin-donald-trump-immigration-meeting/?xid=homepage "undefined"), accusing him of not respecting the dignity of certain immigrants. McCain tweeted Friday that “respect for the God-given dignity of every human being, no matter their race, ethnicity or other circumstances of their birth, is the essence of American patriotism.” He said Trump, who questioned during an immigration meeting why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and “shithole countries” in Africa, should respect that idea. (Trump has [denied using that term](http://time.com/5100480/donald-trump-daca-tweets/?xid=homepage "undefined").) > [](https://twitter.com/SenJohnMcCain/status/951892337692684291) > [](https://twitter.com/SenJohnMcCain/status/951892536116817921) Trump’s comment came during a meeting with lawmakers at the White House Thursday to try to come to a bipartisan immigration deal. So far, no deal has been reached. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5101496/donald-trump-john-mccain-immigration-comments/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5101496/donald-trump-john-mccain-immigration-comments/"},"headline":"John McCain Decries Donald Trump's 'Shithole' Comment","datePublished":"2018-01-12T19:43:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:52:00.351Z","description":"McCain said America should \"respect for the God-given dignity of every human being\"","url":"https://time.com/5101496/donald-trump-john-mccain-immigration-comments/","keywords":["Donald Trump","Congress","White House","John McCain","onetime","president trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb01d1a092000ae3f/6988f808cf40a82f8ac4aec3/gettyimages-903922140.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb01d1a092000ae3f/6988f808cf40a82f8ac4aec3/gettyimages-903922140.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Trump Holds Roundtable On Prison Reform In Roosevelt Room Of White House","caption":"President Trump Holds Roundtable On Prison Reform In Roosevelt Room Of White House","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/donald-trump/","name":"Donald Trump"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5101496/donald-trump-john-mccain-immigration-comments/","name":"John McCain Decries Donald Trump's 'Shithole' Comment"}}]}] ```