President Trump Signs Martin Luther King Jr. Day Proclamation

President Trump signed a Martin Luther King Jr. Day proclamation at the White House Friday, amid furious fallout from comments he made Thursday about "sh*thole countries."

The president praised Martin Luther King Jr. for standing up for the rights of African-Americans, and said everyone was there to remember, "that no matter what the color of our skin or the place of our birth, we are all created equal by God."

Virtually all other focus in Washington — with a spending deal deadline fast approaching — has been set aside, after Trump, in a meeting on immigration with members of Congress Thursday, reportedly questioned why the U.S. accepts people from "sh*thole countries."

"Why are we having all these people from sh*thole countries come here?" the president said in the Thursday afternoon Oval Office meeting with a handful of members of the House and Senate. "We should bring in more people from places like Norway," he added. Norway's prime minister visited the White House Wednesday. The Trump administration recently decided to soon end Temporary Protected Status for citizens of countries like Haiti and El Salvador, who came to the U.S. to escape natural disasters.

Some members of Congress and other critics decried the remarks as racist and elitist. 

Trump denied the comments on Twitter Friday morning, although his staff did not deny the comments when they were first reported. 

The MLK Day signing was already scheduled for Friday, along with the president's first annual physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, but the White House decided not to hold the daily press briefing before Trump takes off for Palm Beach, Florida, Friday night.

(CBS News)