Today on ABC’s This Week, Senator David Perdue, who was present, flatly denied that President Trump referred to any countries as “s***holes” during a meeting with a small group of legislators:

Republican Sen. David Perdue (Ga.) on Sunday said President Trump did not use the word “shithole” to refer to African nations, Haiti and El Salvador during a White House meeting with lawmakers.

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“I’m telling you he did not use that word, George. And I’m telling you it’s a gross misrepresentation. How many times do you want me to say that?” Perdue said after host George Stephanopoulos pressed him for an answer.

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“The gross misrepresentation was that language was used in there that was not used and also that the tone of that meeting was not contributory and not constructive,” the Georgia Republican said.

The Hill adds this, seeking to undercut Perdue’s denial:

The White House last week did not deny that Trump made the comment.

That, I think, is just wrong. President Trump tweeted:

The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made – a big setback for DACA! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018

Never said anything derogatory about Haitians other than Haiti is, obviously, a very poor and troubled country. Never said “take them out.” Made up by Dems. I have a wonderful relationship with Haitians. Probably should record future meetings – unfortunately, no trust! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018

Paul made the most relevant point on Friday. Even if you assume Trump used the word that he and Senator Perdue deny, the villain in this story is Dick Durbin:

I don’t know whether President Trump called any countries “s***holes” yesterday. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if he disparaged certain countries, as is his wont, and he may well have done so profanely. If he did, and if doing so hurt America, then Sen. Durbin and others in the room should have kept Trump’s statement to themselves. No patriotic American would hurt this country’s international standing just to embarrass the president or in the hope of gaining a little leverage in negotiations (which, I’m pretty sure, Durbin has failed to do). But patriotism has never been Dick Durbin’s long suit.

This story is a good illustration of the bizarre times in which we live. Trump made a good point in a private meeting with a small number of legislators. He may have used profanity while doing so, but he wasn’t making a speech. His political enemy, Dick Durbin, then ran to the press to damage Trump by quoting–probably misquoting–his private comments. The press jumped on the story eagerly, assuming Durbin’s account was correct and happily damaging America’s interests, as Democrats and Democratic reporters smugly told us was happening. Lost in the shuffle was the fact that Trump is right about immigration–chain migration and the lottery are crazy and need to go, in favor of a merit-based system–and a large majority of Americans agree with him.

Years ago, some of the lawyers in my office had a series of cases around the country in which they were opposed by another Twin Cities law firm. The lawyers in that law firm were so dishonest, and so given to misrepresenting their conversations with my partners in various courts, that eventually my partners refused to have any telephone conversations with them unless a court reporter was on the line, and a transcript was prepared. President Trump is perhaps at the point where he should take similar measures to prevent Democrats (and perhaps some Republicans) from lying about his conversations with them.

UPDATE: I promise I will never write another post that includes the word “s***hole,” but I can’t resist this addendum, courtesy of Jenna Jameson and via Twitchy. A preface: all porn performers are described as “porn stars,” much as all models now seem to be supermodels, but Jameson really was a star. As such, she made a lot of money, got married and had a kid or two. And she turns out to be a conservative who is active on Twitter.

So: Sally Kohn, who I take it is a somebody on Twitter, tweeted this:

Trump is kicking 200,000 Salvadorans out of the United States and forcing them back to a gang violence-ravaged and impoverished disaster zone. https://t.co/7617vDOuK7 — Sally Kohn (@sallykohn) January 9, 2018

To which Ms. Jameson retorted:

You misspelled shithole https://t.co/aRbx8J5Ave — Jenna Jameson (@jennajameson) January 14, 2018

Which is a rather brilliant exposure of the liberals’ contradiction: they want to keep refugees or emigrants from certain countries here, precisely because the places to which they would otherwise be returned are so awful. But if you describe such a hideous place, where no one apparently should live, as a “s***hole,” it’s fainting couches all around.