Former CIA Director Michael Hayden said Thursday "we all collectively should be a little bit frightened" by Donald Trump reported remarks about immigrants from certain "s**thole countries."
"We all collectively should be a bit embarrassed," Hayden, who also directed the NSA, told Erin Burnett in an interview on CNN.
"We all collectively should be a bit ashamed — and, frankly, Erin, I think we all collectively should be a little bit frightened.
"That's the president of the United States," Hayden said. "He is not appealing to the better angels of our nature or our nation's values."
The Washington Post reported Thursday that President Trump grew frustrated in a bipartisan meeting on immigration as lawmakers floated the idea of restoring protections for immigrants from Africa, El Salvador, and Haiti.
"Why are we having all these people from s**thole countries come here?" Trump asked, according to the Post, referring to the African countries and Haiti.
The newspaper cited two unnamed sources who were briefed on the meeting in its report.
Hayden declined to "make a personal judgment on the president" but called his comments "totally inappropriate."
"I don't know of any other example in recent American history — we have a muddled past — but in recent history where a president says something in environment where . . . he knew it would become public."
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