Sunday night, before running off to the Lincoln Center to party, President Obama spoke to the nation for 13 minutes. His speech was supposed to, I think, be one of those defining moment speeches. Instead it was a “do I really have to be here” lecture with a sort of admission that we really are dealing with terrorism, but we are NOT dealing with ISIS. Just those ISIL weirdos.
Unfortunately he misspoke a time or two during his speech. Most notably the White House had to correct the section where he stated that Tashfeen Malik’s vetting was thorough.
The White House corrects Obama’s statement on Visa Waiver Program pic.twitter.com/vvsCzvnE0A
— Zeke Miller (@ZekeJMiller) December 7, 2015
It seems there were more than a few discrepancies with addresses provided. Not only that, but we are finding out that her choices of schooling in Pakistan and her activities from 2009 to 2014 when she came to the U.S. with her new hubby Syed Rizwan Farook raises more than a few flags.
And that’s when Donald Trump took the ball and started galloping down the court with it. He issued a statement, that you can read in full here, calling for a complete ban on all Muslim immigration into the U.S.
As you might guess, the reaction from all sides was swift with Hillary calling his idea “prejudiced and divisive,” and Bernie Sanders calling Trump a demagogue.
.@Realdonaldtrump has gone from making absurd comments to being downright dangerous with his bombastic rhetoric.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 7, 2015
Donald Trump is unhinged. His "policy" proposals are not serious.
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) December 7, 2015
“President Obama isn’t prepared to do anything, which is clearly foolish, but Donald Trump always plays on everyone’s worst instincts and fears. And saying we’re not going to let a single Muslim into this country is a dangerous overreaction,” she said during a gaggle with reporters in Waterloo, Iowa.
Trump’s latest stance is quite the pivot from what he said in September when Trump claimed he loves Muslims. Since then, and particularly since the Paris terror attacks, his stance on Muslims and Muslim immigration has taken a hard turn. Chris Christie stated
“Again, this is the kind of thing that people say when they have no experience and don’t know what they’re talking about. We do not need to endorse that type of activity, nor should we,” Christie said. He later added, “And you do not need to be banning Muslims from the country. That’s, in my view, that’s a ridiculous position and one that won’t even be productive.”
However, that didn’t stop The Donald from doubling down on his proposal, calling it “very salient, very important, and probably not politically correct,” while at speaking at the USS Yorktown yesterday afternoon.
https://youtu.be/76An3ZxWNfk
He continued his defense of this proposal during a contentious phone interview with Chris Cuomo.
https://youtu.be/gPJzs8VdHHY
Trump certainly enjoys throwing bricks up into the sky and seeing what will land where! Are his sentiments and is his stance on immigration wrong? In one sense, no. But in a very real and practical sense, yes.
Given recent events, Muslim immigration and its hidden dangers is indeed a problem that needs to be addressed. However, would Trump’s YUUUGE and sweeping proposal to ban all Muslims do the trick? Somehow I don’t think so. Right now Trump’s bombastic proposal doesn’t address any of the root causes to this issue. Chiefly the vetting process, the U.S. leadership vacuum, the unchecked rise of ISIS and more. Furthermore Trump’s latest idea ignores one of the very tenets our country was founded on and that is Freedom of Religion.
Do we want to knowingly admit more jihadists into this country leaving ourselves even more vulnerable to attack? Absolutely not. However, is an outright ban the only answer we have? If you are Donald Trump then the answer is yes.
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