--- title: On 'Shithole' Comment, White House Says Trump Is Only Human description: White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders defended Trump's use of vulgar language, saying he is not a "scripted robot." canonical: https://time.com/5105238/white-house-on-shithole-comment-president-trump-isnt-a-scripted-robot/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-16T22:58:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:53:37.544Z article:section: Politics og:title: On 'Shithole' Comment, White House Says Trump Is Only Human og:description: White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders defended Trump's use of vulgar language, saying he is not a "scripted robot." og:url: https://time.com/5105238/white-house-on-shithole-comment-president-trump-isnt-a-scripted-robot/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt033001ea612a7360/6988f85b656a3f51c8bd32e1/president-donald-trump-approval.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2405 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-TRUMP og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: On 'Shithole' Comment, White House Says Trump Is Only Human twitter:description: White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders defended Trump's use of vulgar language, saying he is not a "scripted robot." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt033001ea612a7360/6988f85b656a3f51c8bd32e1/president-donald-trump-approval.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # White House on 'Shithole' Comment: President Trump Isn't a 'Scripted Robot' > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=9449bbad-0c52-4566-a391-5b0b9e4b2652&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1)  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 16, 2018 10:58 PM UTC  President Donald Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 14, 2018 President Donald Trump at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 14, 2018 Nicholas Kamm—AFP/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jan 16, 2018 10:58 PM UTC White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders defended Trump’s use of [vulgar language](http://time.com/5102973/donald-trump-racist-shithole-countries/?iid=sr-link3) Tuesday afternoon, saying he is not a “scripted robot” and that “tough” language helped get him elected. Asked about Trump reportedly referring to African countries as “shithole\[s\],” Sanders denied that Trump used that specific term and said, “No one here is going to pretend like the president is always politically correct. He isn’t. I think that’s one of the reasons the American people love him.” “One of the reasons that he won and is sitting in the Oval Office today is because he isn’t a scripted robot,” she continued. “He’s somebody who tells things like they are sometimes, and sometimes he does use tough language.” Democratic Sen. [Dick Durbin](http://time.com/5100741/dick-durbin-donald-trump-immigration-meeting/?iid=sr-link2) and others have said that in an immigration meeting last week, Trump questioned why the United States should accept more immigrants from Haiti and “shithole” African countries. Some senators and Trump aides have said they did not hear him use that word, while others say they heard the same thing Durbin did. Trump has said his language was “[misrepresented](http://time.com/5103766/donald-trump-immigration-dick-durbin/?xid=homepage).” “I’ve never heard him say anything like that,” Sanders said Tuesday of the substance of Trump’s remark. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5105238/white-house-on-shithole-comment-president-trump-isnt-a-scripted-robot/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5105238/white-house-on-shithole-comment-president-trump-isnt-a-scripted-robot/"},"headline":"White House on 'Shithole' Comment: President Trump Isn't a 'Scripted Robot'","datePublished":"2018-01-16T22:58:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:53:37.544Z","description":"\"No one here is going to pretend like the president is always politically correct. 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