As legal challenge and political resistance grow against the curbs he put on travel from seven Muslim-majority countries to the U.S., President Donald Trump offered conciliatory and confrontational responses within the span of a day.
Democrats are planning to move legislation to overturn the Presidential order while civil rights groups are preparing to challenge its constitutionality in courts. The American Civil Liberties Union has raked in more than $24 million over the weekend in contributions.
On Sunday evening, Mr. Trump issued a statement that said his policy was similar to that of his predecessor Barack Obama who had stalled the entry of Iraqi refugees to the U.S. for six months and that visas and travel would be open to citizens of all countries as soon as the review was over.
On Monday morning, the President sent out a series of tweets in which questioned the critics of his policy and responded to some of the specific criticisms. “If the ban were announced with a one-week notice, the “bad” would rush into our country during that week. A lot of bad ‘dudes’ out there!” Mr. Trump said in response to the specific point.
The President singled out senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer who has vowed to introduce legislation to overturn his order. “Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage, protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer… MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!” he tweeted, in reference to Mr. Schumer’s remarks that “tears were running down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty”.
“This executive order was mean spirited and un-American,” Mr. Schumer said in New York on Sunday, his voice choking and flanked by a Muslim family that had members stranded abroad.
Campaign promise
“There is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter our country. This was a big part of my campaign. Study the world!” Mr. Trump said. “Where was all the outrage from Democrats and the opposition party (the media) when our jobs were fleeing our country?”
On Sunday evening — only hours after he took on senior members of his own party, Senators Lindsay Graham and John McCain — Mr. Trump had issued a statement that sounded conciliatory. “America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and border. America has always been the land of the free and home of the brave,” Mr. Trump said.
“We will keep it free and keep it safe, as the media knows, but refuses to say. My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months. The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror. To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting…”
Review process
“This is not about religion — this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order. We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days...
I have tremendous feeling for the people involved in this horrific humanitarian crisis in Syria. My first priority will always be to protect and serve our country, but as President I will find ways to help all those who are suffering,” he said.
