Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Trump’s invitation to immigrate leaves Norwegians cold

-

President Donald Trump's invitation to Norwegians to immigrate to the United States, while railing against entrants from "shithole" countries, has received a glacial reception in this Nordic country.

The US leader prompted a wave of indignation on Thursday in reported remarks, made to US Senators and Congressmen when he said ""Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?"

Trump was referring to African countries and Haiti, US newspapers reported.

The US leader then suggested the United States should welcome immigrants from places like Norway, whose prime minister met with Trump on Wednesday.

Norwegians reacting on social media were in no hurry to relocate.

Last year the Nordic nation was named the happiest country in the world.

"I'm a Norwegian who enjoyed studying and working in the US. The only thing that would attract me to emigrate to the US is your vibrant multicultural society. Don't take that away," declared Jan Egeland, a former UN Under Secretary General and the current head of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Another Norwegian tweeter, riismeister, said "why would I trade very affordable healthcare (including mental health), very affordable higher education, 49 weeks parental leave (combined for mom+dad), and minimum 25 vacation days per year for a maniac with a big button who wants to take away even more of my rights?"

For influential Norwegian commentator Andreas Wiese, Trump's comments were "proof of his racism".

According to the Norwegian statistics institute SSB, 502 Norwegians left the country to relocate to the United States in 2016, 59 fewer than the previous year.

Norway's foreign minister refused to comment on the controversy.

President Donald Trump’s invitation to Norwegians to immigrate to the United States, while railing against entrants from “shithole” countries, has received a glacial reception in this Nordic country.

The US leader prompted a wave of indignation on Thursday in reported remarks, made to US Senators and Congressmen when he said “”Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?”

Trump was referring to African countries and Haiti, US newspapers reported.

The US leader then suggested the United States should welcome immigrants from places like Norway, whose prime minister met with Trump on Wednesday.

Norwegians reacting on social media were in no hurry to relocate.

Last year the Nordic nation was named the happiest country in the world.

“I’m a Norwegian who enjoyed studying and working in the US. The only thing that would attract me to emigrate to the US is your vibrant multicultural society. Don’t take that away,” declared Jan Egeland, a former UN Under Secretary General and the current head of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

Another Norwegian tweeter, riismeister, said “why would I trade very affordable healthcare (including mental health), very affordable higher education, 49 weeks parental leave (combined for mom+dad), and minimum 25 vacation days per year for a maniac with a big button who wants to take away even more of my rights?”

For influential Norwegian commentator Andreas Wiese, Trump’s comments were “proof of his racism”.

According to the Norwegian statistics institute SSB, 502 Norwegians left the country to relocate to the United States in 2016, 59 fewer than the previous year.

Norway’s foreign minister refused to comment on the controversy.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

World

Calling for urgent action is the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

World

Immigration is a symptom of a much deeper worldwide problem.

Business

Saudi Aramco President & CEO Amin Nasser speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas - Copyright AFP Mark FelixPointing to the still...

Business

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal infers that some workers might be falling out of the job market altogether.