Research Paper on Trump's Shithole Remark Sparks Global Outrage

Introduction

During a White House meeting with politicians to discuss immigration policies in 2018, President Donald Trump used the word "shithole" to describe Haiti and African countries. These remarks were in response to a question on the government's position on immigration policies directed towards people from Haiti and Africa. He then suggested that the United States should allow more people from Norway instead of African countries. The global community categorized these sentiments as hypocritical, racist, intolerable and unprofessional. Some commentators were quick to point out that the commander-in-chief's own mother was an immigrant. Derogatory words such as "shithole" are not the type of words to expect from the president of a superpower in reference to human beings or other nations. Such language serves to legitimize an "America first" approach, which directly contradicts the post-WWII world order, underwritten by the, then, hegemonic power, the United States.

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President Trump's degrading reference to Haiti and Africa may be inferred to have been intended to challenge other U.S. leaders regarding the minimal contribution of Haiti and African countries to the U.S. economy, and thus a change of immigration policies regarding Haiti and less developed countries was necessary. However, even this fair consideration does not justify this type of utterance, especially coming from a country that prides itself on respect for the sovereignty of other countries, and which played a central role in the establishment of multilateral systems that protect the respect of all countries to self-determine.

One of the issues that the multilateral systems created after WWII intended to eliminate was the potential for countries with more resources provoking other nations. However, this principle is broken by president Trump through his sentiments and aggressive America first position. Donald Trump's utterance was a clear example of how superior powers can misuse their hierarchy and privilege to humiliate people from less privileged countries through provocation by way of degradation. When Trump used the slur "shithole" toward the Haitians, he referred to the lack of economic development in Haiti. However, he did not take into consideration the fact that part of that underdevelopment was the result of the 2010 earthquake that left the country in poverty. This type of behavior in which powerful nations and their leadership employ their power as a way of expressing a 'popular hierarchy of place" reverses the gains made by multilateral systems.

Unprecedented Influx of Haitians in the U.S.

Part of the role of multilateral institutions is to ensure that countries are open to citizens from other countries in times of calamities. The U.S. anticipates such eventualities and has provisions for green cards for persons seeking immigration on grounds of hostile and inhabitable conditions in native countries. The devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010 killed more than 220,000 people and injured over 300,000. More than 105,000 homes were destroyed and another 208,000 were damaged, causing some of the population to migrate to another country for a better life. Together, the global community came to the consensus to help the Haitians by providing a place they can call home. As a result, many countries and international organizations such as the United Nations decided to help the country get back on track by providing food, water, and basic needs to the Haitians. Due to economic instability, many Haitians decided to leave their country. The United States was one of the many destinations Haitians moved to, with 676,000 immigrants from the country since Barack Obama's presidency .

The devastating earthquake of 2010 in Haiti, prompted the U.S. to allow many Haitians to come to the United States for better opportunities, escaping the poverty they left under a Temporary Protected Status (TPS). This program is a movement status permitted by law for specific nations enduring desperate conditions such as a catastrophic event, natural disaster, pandemic or war. It protects immigrants from expulsion and approves them to work in the US. After Hurricane Matthew hit Haiti again in 2016, their Temporary Protected Status was extended. Making derogatory statements about people that have been invited into the country amounts to slighting them, which is contrary to what America stands for.

Retrogressive Approach to Foreign Policy

One has to review how the world chose to operate after WWII to understand the weight of President Trump's unprecedented use of derogatory language. The conduct of nations in WWI and WWII compelled the hegemonic United States to lead the call for respect for countries and peaceful coexistence. This call culminated in the establishment of multilateral world order through structures and systems such as in the case of Brenton Woods banking system. Over the past decades, all the American presidents that have served post-WWII have adhered to this rallying call. This approach to the inter-nations relationship has been productive. It has seen relative peace among nations, and fruitful interactions between the U.S. and other countries, including Haiti. Trump's utterance therefore, among other things, ignored the fact that immigrants have played a significant role in the United States economy since the colonial period.

Haitian Immigrants are a hard-working part of the American labor force. Traditionally, this subset of the American population has shown the tenacity of purpose as exhibited in their readiness to work extra hours. Immigrants have an important role to play on the economic growth of host countries. The labor market outcomes that immigrants have on natives' individuals are equally immeasurable. Immigrants boost the economy of host countries by working harder than natives and expand job opportunities rather than taking jobs from U.S workers. President Trump's derogatory sentiments can then be considered to represent a myopic internalization of how nations relate, and the impact that Haitian immigrants and others from African countries have on the economy as a whole.

Admittedly, when poor immigrants first enter the United States, the cost burden in the short term is high as there is often no plan to find them shelter and other basic needs. However, in the long run, the gains made ultimately make the initial investment worthwhile. Such gains are felt in both the country of origin and the immigrants' home country. For instance, it has been established that Haitians who entered the U. S in 2010 with no income, had remittances that contribute to 25 percent of Haiti's economy and 2.5 of U.S economy. These studies suggested the importance of immigrants on the economy, and demonstrate that Haitians will bring economic growth to the United States by taking low jobs that will produce more income for the U.S economy.

In view of these perspectives regarding the subtle ways that underdeveloped countries contribute to the growth of economies of stronger powers, it is worth noting that the narrative of an egoistic nation is not sustainable. A review of the discourse of denigration serves to expound on the matter of backtracking of the president's position as reflected in his sentiments. Denigration" is a method of "othering, stratification (classifying the poor and rich), and self-identification based on other". This definition implies that people tend to criticize others that are different from them. A leader that takes up a respected position such as that of the president of the U.S. ought to be conversant with this fact, and promote the respect of each country with its unique traits. However, this does not appear to be the case based on the preferential perception Donald Trump chooses for different countries.

The media was an important tool for the spread of propaganda and the normalization of divisive sentiments during WWII. Equally, social media (Twitter specifically) may be considered as a way to understand the voices of people that participate in the discourse of denigration by tracing the use of "shithole" and its hashtag. There are many people who used the term "shithole" to refer to a country that was not the home in the derogatory context that the president used. Its use was also noted among persons in powers, such as policymakers, politicians, and journalists. Also, an important minority of tweets came from inhabitants of the "shithole" countries. The position was taken by the U.S. after WWII as the superpower called for the responsibility that was previously lacking. Part of that responsibility required that it leads the way in creating an environment for peaceful coexistence. However, such derogatory terminologies go against this position and prompt the review of the genuineness of the U.S. as a global leader.

Cultural and Economic Gains Resulting from Good Ties with Haitian People

Trump's utterance of "shithole" to represent Haitians to politicians undermines the opportunities for the United States to work with Haiti and other nations in forging relations and economic growth. Policies that favor immigrants have often worked to the benefit of the U.S. It is no wonder the reality of Trump's election in 2016 and the uncertainty over the future trajectory of U.S. foreign policy equally resulted in uncertainty regarding the future of the U.S. economy. Many economists faulted the "America first" narrative fronted by Donald Trump during its campaigns due to the feasibility challenge attached. An inward approach to America's economy would increase the production cost for goods, hence it would be counterproductive.

Unconsidered sentiments on foreign policy, even when not derogatory, may result in economic loses for a country. Whenever a leader or country engages in aggressive foreign policies (such as putting America first), he or she creates dilemmas such as retaliation from other countries and loses the opportunities to work with other nations in solving their differences. For instance, Donald Trump's decision to impose trade sanctions on Chinese imports products caused retaliation from the Chinese government. China is known for making steel at a low cost, which attracts U.S. steel companies to outsource to China and leave American workers out of the job. Trump thought imposing tariffs on China would solve the problem. The Chinese government, however, saw this new policy from the new president of the United States as an "aggressive policy" that would be harmful to their economy, causing them to retaliate back by imposing tariffs too. Trump's policy of putting "America first" kept him from working with China to resolve their differences. Such tussles have a negative impact on the citizens and are anticipated by multilateral institutions that promote peaceful bilateral trade.

President Trump's reference to Haiti follows the trend of his loud support for an "America first" policy that was inconsiderate of the underlying international factors and the likely effect of their unconsidered implementation. He failed to recognize the opportunities to work with other nations to help Haitians in need. Consequently, he lost on legitimacy, and a chance of bringing investment opportunities to the United States. For instance, if the president demonstrated empathy towards Haiti, it could have made more immigrants want to come to the United States, something that would bring more economic growth to the country. Internally, his comment saw the division of Democrats and Republicans that were supposed to be working on a bipartisan solution to keep undocumented immigrants children who brought to the United States when they were young from being deported. Unfortunately, his comment brought division betw...