"Let me be clear.... the people of Haiti have been through more, withstood more, fought back against more injustice... than our President ever has" Anderson Cooper choked back tears as he reflected on his relationship with Haiti, and its people https://t.co/3arEalkKOM — Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) January 12, 2018

CNN’s Anderson Cooper fought back tears in an emotional commentary defending Haiti after President Donald Trump reportedly referred to the country as a “shithole.”

The following day, Trump claimed on Twitter that he hadn’t used those specific words, but Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) ― who was in the room at the time ― swiftly contradicted him, saying that the president had in fact “said these hate-filled things and he said them repeatedly.”

Cooper spoke of learning math from a Haitian immigrant and then visiting the country as a journalist to cover the devastating 2010 earthquake.

“Haitians slap your hand hard when they shake it, they look you in the eye. They don’t blink,” Cooper said, adding:

“They stand tall and they have dignity. It’s a dignity that many in this White House could learn from. It’s a dignity the president, with all his money and all his power, could learn from as well.”

Check out the commentary above.

Earlier in the show, Cooper also addressed the president’s reported remark, calling it “a racist sentiment”:

Anderson Cooper: "Not racial. Not racially charged. Racist ... The sentiment the President expressed today is a racist sentiment" https://t.co/uZZKQOhfTv — Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) January 12, 2018

The article has been updated to include that Trump has denied having used that specific language, and Durbin’s assertion that he did.

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Also on HuffPost

These images show downtown Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 14, 2010 and on Dec. 29, 2014.

These images show downtown Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 14, 2010 and on Dec. 29, 2014.

These images show the site of the Haitian National Palace in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 13, 2010 and on Dec. 29, 2014.

These images show the site of the Haitian Palace of Justice Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 14, 2010 on Dec. 29, 2014.

These images show a street in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 14, 2010, two days after the earthquake and the same street on Dec. 29, 2014.

These images show the site of the Sacre Coeur Church in Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 14, 2010 and Dec. 29, 2014.

These images show the site of the Sacre Coeur Church in Port-au-Prince, on Jan. 14, 2010 and the church on Dec. 29, 2014.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.