Remember when every celebrity was all-in on how great Haiti is?

That was back when Trump called Haiti a "s*!thole country," and if there is anything we know for certain, it is that anything Trump says must be rejected, debunked, folded, stapled, and spindled. 

T-shirts were printed with "Hait is great already" emblazoned on them, HIGA hats made, vacations in resorts guarded by militias were taken, and TV specials were made about how friendly the locals were and how wonderful the beaches. 

— Jonatan Pallesen (@jonatanpallesen) April 23, 2025

It takes a lot of effort to gaslight people this much, but no worries—our cultural elite is happy to work hard for the cause, and even happier still to sacrifice the safety and security of Americans for the cause, because they all live in gated communities, have extensive armed security, and are able to congratulate each other for their virtue whenever they get together in their sybaritic parties and award ceremonies. 

NARRATOR: The elimination of White colonial power in Haiti ushered in a golden age for that island nation, which is in no way an absolute shithole. https://t.co/yCvi8sSoS0

— Eve Keneinan 𝛗☦️ن (@EveKeneinan) October 26, 2025

Haiti has never been great, though. It has been one of the world's great s*!tholes for centuries, dating back to when it was a slave colony run by the French, producing riches beyond measure both for the Ancién Regime and then for the Republic, through the slave revolt, race wars, and rule by the warlord merry-go-round. The Dominican Republic, which shares Hispañola, is doing pretty well, but Haiti is the poorest country in the hemisphere, and will remain so until God Himself returns. 

— Voice Of Our Ancestors Channel (@VoiceOfOurAnces) January 31, 2026

Suddenly, now that Trump has decided to end the Haitian refugee program, the same people who told us that Haiti is the most wonderful paradise on Earth are warning that, perhaps, they exaggerated a bit in years past. Not that they put it that way, of course. What they said before has been memory-holed, and justifiably so. No utterance they make is ever intended to reflect anything so mundane as reality; they are storytellers, and each story must be taken as is. 

— Taya (@travelingflying) January 31, 2026

Haiti, we are suddenly told, is so dangerous that even setting foot on the island is a death sentence. 

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) February 1, 2026

Not that the current Narrative™ has to make sense. Haiti is simultaneously a deadly place to exist, but only because Trump is a racist, making claims that it is a s*!thole. It is a beautiful, peaceful place, but deadly as well. 

Government and civil infrastructure in Haiti remain crippled amid a yearslong armed insurgency and the fallout of a devastating 2010 earthquake, while Trump admin officials—latching onto the president's racist claims about the country—remain unmoved despite legal challenges. https://t.co/eJpUK6k6SN

— Nate Tinner-Williams (@natemup) February 1, 2026

The case that Haitians are in danger in Haiti is far stronger than can be made for most asylum seekers, admittedly. Unfortunately, it is also true that Haitians often, perhaps usually, bring all the dysfunction that has made their country a cesspool to our shores. 

Not to put too fine a point on it, but our asylum policies have been based on the principle of equalizing misery, not alleviating it. If Americans are happy and others are not, the goal seems to be to transfer the misery of the miserable to those of us who weren't miserable before here in America. 

If there is any lesson to be learned from the "recovery" efforts since the hurricane, now 15 years in the past, it is that our elite is as corrupt as a typical Haitian leader. The Clinton Foundation raised billions for relief, and it disappeared down a rathole. The United Nations provided "peacekeeping" and managed to set up a human sex trafficking operation and spread cholera.  

I genuinely have no clue how we should treat Haitian refugees. I sympathize with their plight and am justifiably angry that they do little more than present problems here in America. I am angriest of all at the people who have done nothing but gaslight us, telling us whatever story is convenient for their purposes whenever it suits them. 

One principle, though, seems clear to me. Asylum should be, in most cases, temporary and based on political persecution. The principle cannot be simply that somebody is better off here than in their home countries. There are surveys out there that show, despite the United States being widely believed by our elite to be a systemically racist and cruel country, about 10-30% of the world's population would rather live here than at home. 

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu says "every single human has the legal right to come to the United States." pic.twitter.com/XzMVLhCw85

— Remarks (@remarks) January 31, 2026

Michelle Wu may believe that 8 billion people have a right to live here, but few of the most ardent open borders advocates really believe that. 

Editor's note: If we thought our job in pushing back against the Academia/media/Democrat censorship complex was over with the election, think again. This is going to be a long fight. If you want to join the conversation in the comments -- and support independent platforms -- why not join our VIP Membership program? Choose VIP to support Hot Air and access our premium content, VIP Gold to extend your access to all Townhall Media platforms and participate in this show, or VIP Platinum to get access to even more content and discounts on merchandise. Use the promo code FIGHT to join or to upgrade your existing membership level today, and get 60% off!