WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump grew frustrated with lawmakers Thursday in the Oval Office when they discussed protecting immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and African countries as part of a bipartisan immigration deal, according to several people briefed on the meeting.

“Why are we having all these people from s—hole countries come here?” Trump asked, according to these people, referring to countries mentioned by the lawmakers.

Trump then suggested that the United States should instead bring more people from countries such as Norway, whose prime minister he met with Wednesday. The president, according to a White House official, also suggested he would be open to more immigrants from Asian countries because he felt that they help the United States economically.

On Twitter on Friday, Trump acknowledged he used “tough” language during the meeting but appeared to deny using the term “s—hole” to refer to some countries.

“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!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

White House officials didn’t immediately respond to a request for clarification Friday.

In addition, the people familiar with the meeting said the president singled out Haiti, telling lawmakers that immigrants from that country must be left out of any deal.

“Why do we need more Haitians?” Trump asked, according to the people familiar with the meeting. “Take them out.”

Lawmakers were taken aback by the comments, according to people familiar with their reactions.

Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., had proposed cutting the visa lottery program by 50 percent and then prioritizing countries already in the system, a White House official said.

A White House spokesman late Thursday defended Trump’s position on immigration without directly addressing his remarks. White House officials didn’t dispute the account.

“Certain Washington politicians choose to fight for foreign countries, but President Trump will always fight for the American people,” spokesman Raj Shah said in a statement issued after The Washington Post first reported Trump’s remarks. “ … Like other nations that have merit-based immigration, President Trump is fighting for permanent solutions that make our country stronger by welcoming those who can contribute to our society, grow our economy and assimilate into our great nation.”

Trump built his candidacy and presidency around hard stances on immigration, vowing to build a wall along the Mexican border and cut legal immigration by half, among other positions. The Department of Homeland Security has increased immigration raids, including dozens this week at convenience stores across the country.

The meeting Thursday put further scrutiny on Trump’s tendency to make racially charged remarks – including attacks on protesting black athletes and his claim that there were fine people “on both sides” after neo-Nazis rioted in Charlottesville, Va. Trump falsely claimed for years that Barack Obama was not born in the United States and took out advertisements calling for the death penalty for members of the Central Park Five – four black youths and a Hispanic youth who were accused of a brutal rape in New York and later exonerated.

The president’s remarks were met with scorn from Democrats and some Republicans and could throw a wrench into bipartisan discussions on immigration, which had shown promise in recent days, according to legislators.

Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill., said the comments “will shake the confidence that people have” in the ongoing immigration policy talks.

“Democrats and Republicans in the Senate made a proposal. The answer is this racist outburst of the president. How can you take him seriously?” Gutiérrez said. “They (Republicans) don’t believe in immigration – it’s always been about people of color and keeping them out of this country.”

Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, said on Twitter that Trump’s remarks “are further proof that his Make America Great Again Agenda is really a Make America White Again agenda.”

Some Republicans also raised objections. Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah, whose family is from Haiti, said in a statement that Trump’s remarks were “unkind, divisive, elitist and fly in the face of our nation’s values. This behavior is unacceptable from the leader of our nation.”

The New York Times also reported last year that Trump said immigrants from Haiti have AIDS. The White House denied that report.

In a statement condemning Thursday’s remarks by Trump, Haiti’s ambassador to the United States, Paul G. Altidor, said “the president was either misinformed or miseducated about Haiti and its people.” He said the Haitian Embassy was inundated with emails from Americans apologizing for what the president said.

Democrats were quick to note that Trump employs Haitians at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and that he praised Haitian Americans during a roundtable in Miami in September.

“Whether you vote for me or don’t vote for me, I really want to be your greatest champion, and I will be your champion,” Trump said at the roundtable.

Alix Desulme, a city council member in North Miami, home to thousands of Haitian Americans, said the president’s latest remarks were “disgusting.”

“Oh, my God. Oh, my God Jesus,” Desulme said. “I don’t know how much worse it can get.”

“This is very alarming. We know he’s not presidential, but this is a low,” he said. “It’s disheartening that someone who is the leader of the free world would use such demeaning language to talk about other folks, referring to folks of color.”