fter the Washington Post reported that Donald Trump wondered aloud why America encourages immigration from “sh*thole,” countries, CNN seemed to view this as an open invite to openly swear on the air, with reporters and anchors repeating the world repeatedly throughout Thursday’s “The Lead" and "The Situation Room.”
Jake Tapper returned from a break and announced, "The Post reports that according to two people briefed in the meeting, the president asked, quote, 'Why are we having all these people from sh*thole countries coming here?'"
Tapper repeated the word again later in the segment, as did CNN contributor John Avlon.
CNN's Jim Acosta used the word three times.
“The president said,” Acosta reported, “‘Why are we having all of these people from,’ — and I apologize for using this word here, but this is a quote from the president — ‘why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?’”
Proving this was no one-tip slip, Acosta returned to the air moments later and repeated the FCC-prohibited word: “This meeting behind closed doors, in which the president referred to countries like Haiti and countries in Africa as a ‘shithole.’”
Wolf Blitzer, for his part, danced around using vulgarity on the air: “In these words that he told these bipartisan members of Congress, senators and House members earlier today, they were meeting on immigration, ‘Why are we having all of these people from — uh, um, you get the point. S-hole countries or bleep-hole countries come here?’”
Acosta then returned to the air and appeared to chastise the host for not openly swearing on air.
“And I noticed Wolf, you hesitated to use that word, I hesitate to use it myself, as an s-hole or shithole is the word that the Washington Post is quoting the president saying,” Acosta said.