President Trump's dismissal of African countries as "shitholes" while simultaneously expressing a preference for immigrants from Norway sent his allies scrambling to explain that he's not a racist. What's clear is that the Enormously Consensual President has frequently, enthusiastically, and unapologetically said racist things. Still, appearances must be (vaguely) maintained. So various White House officials have been twisting themselves into knots in recent days to support the president's own claim that he's "the least racist person." Stephen Colbert lampooned the lot of them Tuesday night:

This content is imported from YouTube. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was dealt with in short order after she explained that Trump couldn't be racist because NBC had given him a TV show for a decade. "I mean, she's got a point," Colbert smirked, "NBC has always shown great judgment with their long-term employees. Just ask Bill Cosby and Matt Lauer." Then, when the audience groaned: "Not racist!"

Then there were the various Republicans who started insisting the president said "shithouse" rather than "shithole," in the apparent belief that the offensive aspect of all this was "hole." That was part of an elaborate explanation where Trump was referring to the plumbing conditions in the countries in question. (Also, implying none of the 54 countries in Africa has indoor bathrooms is un-racist?) But Colbert cut to the core point: "Yes, of course. Who hasn't heard of the well-known practice of describing a nation by its plumbing conditions? By this scale, Japan is robot toilet country."

The Late Show YouTube

In the end, though, there could only be one. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was in the room when Trump made his Definitely Not Racist comments, and happened to be testifying before a Senate committee Tuesday. In an incredible display of shamelessness, Nielsen not only played deer-in-the-headlights when asked whether profanity was used, she went so far as to pretend she was almost completely unfamiliar with the nation of Norway.

"Norway is a predominantly white country, isn't it?" asked Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat.

"I—uh—I actually do not know that, sir," Nielsen said.

Yes, the Secretary of Homeland Security, whose name is Kirstjen Nielsen, hasn't the foggiest idea what Scandinavians look like.

Jack Holmes Politics Editor Jack Holmes is the Politics Editor at Esquire, where he writes daily and edits the Politics Blog with Charles P Pierce.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io