Donald Trump shifts blame for travel ban chaos
DONALD Trump has defended his travel ban and absolved himself of responsibility for the chaos it has created around the world.
DONALD Trump has defended his travel ban and shifted the blame for the chaos it created, as he prepares to reveal his nominee for the Supreme Court.
The US president blamed airline Delta’s power outage, not his executive order on immigration, for causing more than 100 people to be detained at airports across the country over the weekend.
“Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage,” Mr Trump declared in a blaze of early morning tweets.
UNDERSTAND THE BAN: How Australian travellers are affected
However, The New York Post reports the nationwide Delta ground stop, caused by a computer problem, only took place overnight on Sunday — while refugees and immigrants were detained since Mr Trump issued the executive order on Friday.
“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 added.
His statements come as the Department of Homeland Security says all detainees from across the country have been released.
Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage,.....
â Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017
protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer. Secretary Kelly said that all is going well with very few problems. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!
â Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017
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!
â Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017
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!
â Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017
Where was all the outrage from Democrats and the opposition party (the media) when our jobs were fleeing our country?
â Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017
Mr Trump signed an executive order on Friday barring citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries — Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Libya and Yemen — from entering the US for at least 90 days. He also imposed a 120-day suspension on the US refugee program and blocked Syrians from entry indefinitely.
The move triggered protests, confusion at US airports and wider concerns over global trade. But a Trump aide hailed it a “massive success story”.
“It really is a massive success story in terms of implementation on every single level,” an unidentified senior official told The Washington Post.
The official said the executive order was implemented without warning because “everybody here can use their imaginations to imagine 25 reasons that wouldn’t make sense from a security standpoint, a management standpoint, from just an airport-safety standpoint, you name it”.
‘WHAT IF WE DIDN’T ACT?
White House Perss Secretary Sean Spicer defended Mr Trump’s actions on TV today.
“What would have happened if we didn’t act and someone was killed?” he said.
“There was a very short period of time in which we had something to execute that would ensure that the people of the United States were safe,” Mr Spicer told MSNBC. “We act now to protect the future.”
At a White House press conference a short time later, Mr Spicer stated: “Being able to come to America is a privilege, not a right.”
He said the lack of consultation over the executive order with key agencies, Congress and the Senate was due to “national security reasons”. If immigrants had been given notice, this would enabled more to rush in before the ban took effect, he said.
“Everybody was kept in the loop at the level necessary to make sure that we rolled it out properly,” Mr Spicer told the press gallery.
“The system worked well ... that’s the takeaway.”
He also addressed apparent internal disagreement within the State Department over the composition and implementation of the travel ban. Mr Spicer said this called “into question whether or not they should continue” to serve under a Trump administration.
TRUMP TO ANNOUNCE SUPREME COURT PICK
Mr Trump says he will announce his pick for the Supreme Court at 8pm Tuesday local time (midday Wednesday AEDT). The court has been working with eight justices since the death last year of Justice Antonin Scalia.
Former President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland for the post last year, but the Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to take up the nomination. Poor Merrick Garland.
I have made my decision on who I will nominate for The United States Supreme Court. It will be announced live on Tuesday at 8:00 P.M. (W.H.)
â Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017
IRAQ RETALIATES AGAINST BAN
Iraq’s government has called on Mr Trump to review his “wrong decision” to prevent Iraqis from entering the United States. The country’s parliament has backed reciprocal restrictions if Washington does not change course.
“We see it as necessary for the new American administration to review this wrong decision,” the Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement. “It is very unfortunate that this decision was issued towards an allied state linked by strategic partnership with the United States.”
The parliament said that if the US does not roll back the move, this “will push Iraq to take policies and decisions commensurate with the preservation of its interests”.
It’s not clear how the vote will impact American citizens currently in Iraq, or co-operation between the two countries in the ongoing battle against Islamic State.
TRUMP ‘CUTS REGULATIONS’ FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
Meanwhile, Mr Trump has signed an executive action aimed at “cutting regulations massively for small business”, saying it will be the “biggest such act that our country has ever seen”.
He was photographed signing the order surrounded by small business owners in the Oval Office.
Earlier, White House officials called the directive a “one in, two out” plan. It requires government agencies requesting a new regulation to identify two regulations they will cut from their own departments.
TRUMP CALLS CANADIAN PM OVER MOSQUE SHOOTING
Mr Trump has called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to express his condolences about the Quebec City mosque attack that killed six people. Mr Trudeau’s office says Mr Trump also offered to provide any necessary assistance.
It comes after Mr Trudeau signalled his disapproval of Mr Trump’s travel ban by tweeting about Canada’s acceptance of refugees.
To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada
â Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017
#WelcomeToCanada pic.twitter.com/47edRsHLJ5
â Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017
GLOBAL STOCKS PLUMMET AMID TRAVEL BAN
Global stock markets fell on Monday due to uncertainty over the impact of the president’s travel ban.
Investors are wary of what the move presages for global trade, not least because there is so much disagreement about it around the world.
The S&P; ASX 200 in Australia dropped 0.9 per cent to 5,661.50. In Europe, Germany’s DAX fell 0.8 per cent to 11,725 while the CAC 40 in France shed 0.9 per cent to 4798. Britain’s FTSE 100 was 0.7 per cent lower at 7132.
US stocks were poised for a lower open too, with Dow futures and the broader S&P; 500 futures down 0.3 per cent. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.5 per cent to 19,368.85, while India’s Sensex edged 0.1 per cent lower to 27,849.92.
ONE MILLION SIGN PETITION TO BAN TRUMP
The British government has rejected calls to cancel Mr Trump’s looming state visit despite a petition against it gaining more than one million signatures.
A Downing Street source told The Sun it would “undo everything” after Prime Minister Theresa May’s talks with the US President last week.
A petition saying Trump’s UK visit would “cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen” has raced to a million signatures in just 24 hours, and could now be debated by MPs in Parliament.