The president has since denied that he using that exact phrase, insisting in a Friday tweet he had been "tough," but "this was not the language used." (Yet one lawmaker present at the meeting, Sen. Durbin, D-Ill., later confirmed Trump made repeated "hate-filled, vile and racist" comments.)
The language used by me at the DACA meeting was tough, but this was not the language used. What was really tough was the outlandish proposal made - a big setback for DACA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018
The pushback has not quelled critics accusing Trump of racism. They contrasted the president's derisive remarks about certain countries to his reported desire to bring in more immigrants from countries such as Norway.
Still, this is far from the first time that the president has stirred controversy by making remarks that critics say are racist.
MORE: Sen. Durbin: Trump 'said things which were hate-filled, vile and racist'
MORE: Countries, UN respond to Trump's vulgar comments
Here are five times Trump's comments have sparked controversy over race.
1. Calling Mexicans 'rapists'
The controversies began on the first day of Trump's presidential campaign back in 2015.
"When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best," he said during his candidacy announcement. "They're sending people that have lots of problems...They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crimes, they're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."
Amid a public outcry, Trump lost out on business deals, including NBC announcing it would not air the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants, which Trump owned at the time.
Within a week, Trump would declare, "I love the Mexican people." Later during the campaign, he promised to remove the "bad hombres" from the country.
MORE: Trump's immigration comments put NBC, Miss USA in weird spot
2. The Khan feud
After Khizr Khan — whose son Humayun Khan was killed in Iraq in 2004 — paid tribute to his son and bashed then-candidate Trump on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, Trump went after Khan's wife, Ghazala. Ghazala Khan stood silently by her husband's side during his speech at the DNC.
Trump suggested she couldn't speak. "If you look at his wife, she was standing there," he said during a TV interview, "She had nothing to say... Maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me."
Critics said his comments implied that she wasn't allowed to speak because she was Muslim.
Ghazala Khan would deny Trump's claim, saying that it was painful for her to speak about her son in public.
MORE: Khizr Khan: Trump's comments 'typical of a person without a soul'
3. Charlottesville
President Trump made several statements on the violent clashes between white nationalists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Va., last summer.
One of the clashes included an alleged white nationalist crashed a car into a crowd of protesters, killing one person and wounding 19 others. Yet Trump suggested that there was blame on "many sides."
He was criticized for those comments, and tried to walk them back a couple days later, saying, "Racism is evil." He denounced hate groups.
But the following day, he gave an extraordinary and chaotic press conference at Trump Tower, and appeared to return to his initial response.
"What about the alt-left that came charging at the, as you say, alt-right?" Trump told reporters. "Do they have any semblance of guilt? What about the fact they came charging with clubs in their hands?"
MORE: Trump again blames 'both sides' for violence in Charlottesville
4. NFL
Trump criticized NFL players who were kneeling during the national anthem before football games to protest racial disparity.
He called on NFL team owners to fire the protesting players.
"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners when somebody disrespects our flag to say, 'Get that son of a b—- off the field,'" he said during an Alabama rally in September.
The president defended his comments after critics suggested that the comments were racist.
MORE: Trump slams NFL players for national anthem protests; athletes react
The issue of kneeling has nothing to do with race. It is about respect for our Country, Flag and National Anthem. NFL must respect this!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 25, 2017
5. Haitians and Nigerians
According to a New York Times report, Trump declared in December that the 15,000 Haitians who received visas in 2017 "all have AIDS." In that same report, he reportedly said that 40,000 Nigerians who came to the United States would never "go back to their huts."
The report came about a month after the Trump administration removed protections for nearly 60,000 immigrants from Haiti, who were granted temporary residency following a 2010 earthquake.
The White House denied that the president made those comments.
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