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  • 2018-01-24 (xsd:date)
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  • Did a Former Peace Corps Volunteer Defend Trump's Sh*thole Comments? (en)
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  • A chain email circulated in January 2018, spreading an opinion piece which argued that President Trump was right when he reportedly categorized African countries as shitholes during a meeting on immigration. Although the versions of this email that we encountered correctly attributed this piece to Karin McQuillan, a contributor to the American Thinker who calls herself a former Peace Corps member, many readers seemed unsure about this article's origins. Some readers may have been skeptical about chain emails in general, which are notorious for misattribution, while others questioned whether McQuillan was actually a former member of the Peace Corps. Here's how the opinion piece titled What I Learned in the Peace Corps in Africa: Trump is Right began: McQuillan's full piece was published on the web site American Thinker on 17 January 2018. Although many think of the Peace Corps as a liberal organization, McQuillan is a conservative contributor at the American Thinker and frequently publishes pieces with an anti-Obama, pro-Trump slant. It is difficult to verify if McQuillan was truly a volunteer in the Peace Corps. When contacted by phone, the Peace Corps human resources department declined to confirm employment for Karen McQuillan, saying they required her social security number or a release form to do a basic employment check, according to Peter Ter, certifying specialist. Ter did not have a remedy for how to find out if someone was lying about employment for the Peace Corps, in which case no social security or release form would be attainable. We were unable to reach McQuillan for further verification. So, we can't say with certainty that McQuillan was a member of the Peace Corps. However, a posting on Peace Corps Worldwide, a site where former volunteers share experiences, stated that McQuillan volunteered in Senegal in 1971 and that she was listed in the 2006 directory for the National Peace Corps Association, an alumni and support organization. She talked about her time in the Peace Corps during an interview promoting her Amazon author page: If this viral op-ed was truly written by a former Peace Corps volunteer, it should be noted that McQuillan reportedly worked with the organization in 1971, more than 40 years prior to penning it. McQuillan's views are also not representative of the Peace Corps as a whole. Several other supposed Peace Corps volunteers have also offered their opinions on Trump's alleged shithole remark. This piece, for instance, argued that Burkina Faso is not a shithole country, this article said the same about Uganda and criticized Trump for making it harder to be a Peace Corps volunteer, and this letter to the editor argued that while Niger was the shittiest of shithole countries, President Trump should be working to improve those conditions, instead of disparaging the region. The National Peace Corps Association also released a statement regarding Trump's reported remarks: (en)
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