"He actually said ... could we swap Puerto Rico for Greenland because, in his words, Puerto Rico was 'dirty' and 'the people were poor,'" former DHS chief of staff Miles Taylor told MSNBC's Hallie Jackson.
Taylor said Trump made the offensive comments ahead of a 2018 trip to Puerto Rico for hurricane relief.
The former official added Trump expressed "deep animus for the Puerto Rican people behind the scenes" and that he did not believe Trump was joking.
During an MSNBC interview Wednesday, former Department of Homeland Security chief of staff Miles Taylor said the president made a surprising request.
Taylor, who has been speaking out about his time in the Trump administration in recent days, told MSNBC's Hallie Jackson that he heard Trump float a swap deal for Puerto Rico and Greenland during summer 2018.
According to Taylor, Trump made the comments ahead of an August 2018 trip to Puerto Rico for hurricane relief.
"He actually said he wanted to see if we could sell Puerto Rico — could we swap Puerto Rico for Greenland because, in his words, Puerto Rico was 'dirty' and 'the people were poor,'" Taylor said. »