By Eric Stock
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is standing by his account of a meeting last week in which President Donald Trump reportedly used a vulgar phrase when referring to African countries.
Durbin said he was standing three feet from the president when Trump made the remarks.
PODCAST: Listen to Scott’s interview with Durbin on WJBC.
The President has said on Twitter that Durbin misrepresented what was said at the meeting and is hurting a potential DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) deal that would spare the children of undocumented immigrants from deportation.
Durbin told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin a DACA bill is still on track.
“We have plenty of Democrats but we want to make sure we have Republicans and let them know we have made major strides when it comes to border security in this proposal,” Durbin said. “It is a good, balanced approach and I want to bring it up for a vote this week.”
Durbin said he’s not seeking publicity to tell his version of the events. He said every Sunday morning television talk show tried to book him this week but he declined.
Durbin added he’d prefer to vote on DACA separate from the budget, but he said the Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan has told him he doesn’t have the DACA votes without tying it to another bill.
Eric Stock can be reached at [email protected].
