Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump welcomed the first leader from sub-Saharan Africa to the White House on Monday nearly 15 months into his term.

The discussions with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari centered around security challenges, including the nearly decade-long insurgency by Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria's northeast. But the meeting's tricky subtext was Trump's broader view of Africa, including his description of some African nations as "shithole countries" during a private meeting earlier this year.

At the time, Trump denied making the comment and insisted to reporters afterward that he wasn't a racist.

During a news conference on Monday, Trump made no such denial.

"You do have some countries that are in very bad shape and very tough places to live in," he said in the Rose Garden. "We didn't discuss it, because the President knows me, and he knows where I'm coming from and I appreciate that."

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