President Trump's vulgar comments, disparaging African nations as "shithole countries," is just the latest proof that the White House espouses racist attitudes and ideologies, according to East Bay congresswoman Barbara Lee.

"This is a pattern, and this is very common with this president," Lee said in an interview.

The comments from the longtime member of Congress and former chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus came in the hours after Trump denied reports that, in a meeting Thursday at the White House, he not only made offensive remarks about countries in Africa but also questioned why the United States would admit immigrants from them and other nations, like Haiti.

"This was not the language used," Trump said in a tweet.