Colorado’s Republican U.S. senator, Cory Gardner of Yuma, wouldn’t go too far on “Face the Nation” into what President Trump allegedly said behind closed doors about immigrants from Africa and Haiti last week.

Trump alleges he talked tough in a meeting with Republican and Democrats about immigration, but he didn’t disrespect African and Haitian immigrants, and he didn’t use the word “shithole” to describe their homelands.

On the Sunday morning show, Gardner sidestepped a question about whether Democrats are lying about what was said by the man Gardner once called a “buffoon.”

“I’m not going to get into the who-said-what-said, but what was reported is unacceptable,” Gardner said on “Face the Nation.”

Gardner on Sunday didn’t engage in tearing down Trump. He sought to shift the narrative to a higher plane, never dipping a toe into whether Trump is a racist.

“[W]hat we have to do is not let that define this moment,” said Gardner. “We can’t let this moment’s politics defeat the important policy choices ahead of us. Look, we put together a very responsible plan, and if people want to better that, if people want to improve that, then let’s do that.”

YOu can watch the full interview on the CBS news show by clicking here.

Gardner spoke on Sunday morning show outside his family’s tractor dealership in Yuma, which is as good a promotion as Trump playing golf on his own courses.

Host John Dickerson asked Gardner if he thought the Democrats in the meeting were making up the allegation that the president used the word shithole, and whether the explosive, racially charged undertones Trump allegedly dropped into the discussion would seek immigration reform.

“Look, I have no doubt that there are probably people on the Republican side of the aisle who may not want a solution on this,” Gardner said. “There are probably some on the Democratic side of the aisle who don’t want a solution on this. They’d rather have those things to fight about and to fight over.

“But that’s not where a lot of the Democrats that I’ve been working with are and that’s not where the Republicans that I’ve been working with are. Where we are is trying to find a real solution because we know that most Americans agree our immigration system is broken.”