Are Senators Tom Cotton and David Purdue Actively Evil or Just Incredibly Stupid?

Donald Trump definitely called African countries “shitholes” and insisted he’d prefer immigration to the United States from places like Norway. There’s no way he didn’t. He’s Donald Trump, lifelong racist, multiple news outlets confirmed that he said it, and several senators who heard him say it have now confirmed it too.

Nevertheless, Republican Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue, both of whom were in the room when Trump reportedly made the comments, are insisting that they just can’t quite remember if the president called another country a shithole.

In a joint statement released on Friday, Cotton and Perdue—each a Trump toady in their own uniquely odious way—wrote:

We do not recall the president saying those comments specifically but what he did call out was the imbalance in our current immigration system, which does not protect American workers and our national interest.

Because the president insisting he wants immigrants from a predominantly white country over those from a predominantly black continent is definitely the kind of thing you forget. Sure thing, guys.

It’d be one thing if the senators had the balls to simply lie and deny that it ever happened. But this attempt to save face and say they can’t remember is as insulting to us as it is embarrassing to them—especially when the account has been confirmed over and over again.