Paul Ryan: Trump's comments on immigration 'unhelpful'

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Show Caption Hide Caption Ryan on Trump's slur: "Unfortunate, unhelpful" House Speaker Paul Ryan told the story of his own family's journey to America in response to Trump's vulgar immigration remark. Trump asked during an Oval Office meeting why we should admit more immigrants from "shithole countries" like Africa. (Jan. 12)

MILWAUKEE — A day after President Trump made derogatory remarks about immigrants, House Speaker Paul Ryan in Milwaukee called the president's comments "very unfortunate" and "unhelpful."

Ryan discussed his Irish roots and said immigration is "a thing to celebrate."

"I read those comments later last night. So the first thing that came to my mind was, very unfortunate, very unhelpful. But you know what I thought of right away? I thought of my own family.

"My family, like a whole lot of people, came from Ireland on what they called the coffin ships then. Came here and worked the railroads. The Irish were really looked down upon back in those days. I hear all these stories from my relatives about 'Irish need not apply.' We could basically get construction jobs, cops and firefighter jobs."

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On Friday, Trump denied using the words "shithole countries," to describe Haiti and African nations in a meeting with lawmakers Thursday.

But Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said that Trump had indeed made those comments in his presence.

Sen. Durbin: Trump said 'hate-filled' things 'repeatedly' Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin says he personally heard President Donald Trump use "vile and racist" remarks during an immigration meeting with lawmakers.

Of immigration, Ryan said: "I see this as a thing to celebrate. And I think it's a big part of our strength."

Ryan came to Milwaukee Friday to talk up the Republican Party's tax plan during a luncheon presented by WisPolitics.

Ryan has been making a full-court press on the benefits of the tax bill and has focused on companies that have already offered bonuses and pay raises since the Republican overhaul was signed into law.

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During an interview that posted Friday on C-SPAN, Ryan predicted that Democrats will "regret" not having backed the plan.

Referring to the 2018 midterms and the possibility of a wave of Democrats being election to Congress, Ryan said: "History says we should lose 32 seats ... we have to buck history."

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