'Black-belt shade': James Comey fires back at Trump's 'shithole' remark with 'brilliant' subtweet

Former FBI director James Comey has once again thrown shade at Donald Trump with yet another subtweet in response to the president's reported reference to Haiti, El Salvador and African nations as "shithole countries." During a meeting with bipartisan lawmakers on immigration at the White House Thursday (11 January), Trump reportedly became frustrated and questioned why the US was accepting immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti and African nations as part of an immigration deal.

"Haitians. Do we need more Haitians?" Trump reportedly asked, according to the Washington Post. "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?"

Although Trump is known for making controversial statements and using vulgar language, his latest remarks sparked furious backlash, both within the US and internationally, including from the countries named.

Republican Representative Mia Love, the country's first Haitian-American congresswoman, slammed the Trump's behaviour as "unacceptable from the leader of our nation."

"The (President's) comments are unkind, divisive, elitist, and fly in the face of our nation's values," Love said in a statement Thursday night. "The President must apologize to both the American people and the nations he so wantonly maligned."

"My parents came from one of those countries but proudly took an oath of allegiance to the United States and took on the responsibilities of everything that being a citizen comes with. They never took a thing from our federal government. They worked hard, paid taxes, and rose from nothing to take care of and provide opportunities for their children. They taught their children to do the same. That's the American Dream."

Trump has since pushed back against the report saying the language he used during the meeting was "tough, but this was not the language used".

Over the past few months, Comey - who was fired by Trump in May last year - has become the king of the subtweet on Twitter, frequently throwing shade at the president over the political news of the day.

Hitting back at Trump's "shithole" remarks, Comey tweeted a part of "The New Colossus", the 1883 poem by Emma Lazarus that is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.

"'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!'" Comey tweeted. "This country's greatness and true genius lies in its diversity."

Twitter erupted with praise over the Comey's latest "epic" subtweet and echoed sentiments similar to that expressed in the poem.

"Comey just elevated the 'subtweet' to the 'F**k You' stage. Achievement unlocked," one Twitte user wrote. A second wrote: "Lordy, Comey's subtweet game is strong."

"Comey's mastery of the subtweet is one of the only good things to come out of 2017," someone added.