President Donald Trump, facing nationwide protests over an executive order banning visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries, denied on Sunday that the move was a “Muslim ban,” and in a now-usual move, blamed the media.
“To be clear this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting,” said Trump in a statement released by the White House. “This is not about religion — this is about terror and keeping our country safe.”
In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network on Friday, Trump said he intended to give priority to Christians seeking entry to the U.S. from the seven predominantly Muslim nations because they had suffered “more so” than others.
Trump’s executive order, signed Friday, ended refugee entry into the United States for 120 days, and barred all citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations from entering the U.S. for the next three months.
The order set off confusion and chaos at airports worldwide as officials seemed unclear how to implement it. White House senior advisor Reince Preibus said those holding so-called green cards as permanent U.S. residents should not be subject to the order.
Meanwhile thousands gathered at airports around the country on Saturday to protest the detention of scores of travelers from the seven countries, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia.
Lawsuits were filed on behalf of many of the travelers detained by customs and border patrol agents, and some were released after many hours of questioning.
Also on Sunday, Trump attacked Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham via Twitter for their criticism of his executive order, calling them “sadly weak on immigration” and encouraging them to “focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.”
McCain and Graham had issued a joint statement noting the “hasty process” involved in vetting and implementing the new order. “We fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism,” they said.
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