Some African nations are 'very tough places to live' - Trump

US president Donald Trump on Monday met with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, the first African leader to visit him at the White House since he used a vulgar term to describe African countries earlier this year. 

Though Trump he did not apologize for the comment as he stood in the Rose Garden alongside Buhari on Monday, he in fact, seemed to double down on his view that some countries in Africa are "very tough places to live in."

We didn't discuss it, Trump said at a joint news conference in response to a question first put to Buhari.

Buhari was asked whether he had talked to Trump about reports that the U.S. president used the word "shithole" to describe African countries in January.

Buhari skirted the issue, saying he was unsure about "the validity or whether that allegation against the president was true or not."

So the best thing for me is to keep quiet, Buhari said.

Trump in a meeting with a group of senators on January 11, questioned why the U.S. would accept more immigrants from Haiti and "shithole countries" in Africa as he rejected a bipartisan immigration deal, according to one participant and people briefed on the remarkable Oval Office conversation. He said he instead would prefer immigrants from countries like predominantly white Norway.

Trump later offered a partial denial in public but privately defended his remarks, The Associated Press reported in January. There was also internal debate in the West Wing over whether Trump said "shithole" or "shithouse," the AP reported.

Trump at the news conference on Monday, told Buhari that;

You do have some countries that are in very bad shape and very tough places to live in. But we didn't discuss it because the president knows me, and he knows where I'm coming from. And I appreciate that. We did not discuss it.

Later on Monday, former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman tweeted to Buhari: "FYI he said it." 

Manigault Newman resigned in December, but her departure wasn't effective until January 20.

Buhari is the first African leader to come to the White House since Trump took office. Nigeria, Africa's most-populous country with nearly 200 million people, is the continent's largest economy and its leading crude oil exporter.

Sourced from AP