By Gary Bauer 1/30/17
Media Malpractice
Late Friday afternoon, President Trump signed an executive order designed to keep radical Islamic terrorists out of the country. Immediately the left and its media allies went on the attack.
Virtually every major media outlet breathlessly reported that President Trump’s order had resulted in chaos and outrage. Protests “spontaneously” erupted. Hollywood elites are accusing the White House of fascism. Members of Congress were choking back tears and denouncing the White House action as “mean spirited” and “unconstitutional.”
Here’s part of President Trump’s order:
“In order to protect Americans, the United States must ensure that those admitted to this country do not bear hostile attitudes toward it and its founding principles. The United States cannot, and should not, admit those who do not support the Constitution, or those who would place violent ideologies over American law. In addition, the United States should not admit those who engage in acts of bigotry or hatred (including “honor” killings, other forms of violence against women, or the persecution of those who practice religions different from their own) or those who would oppress Americans of any race, gender, or sexual orientation.”
This is exactly the kind of vetting we need! There is no reason for us to be importing bigotry.
CNN had a guest on yesterday actually making the case that this order was evidence of “white supremacism” in the Trump Administration. President Trump was right to call the media “the opposition.” The media have abandoned all notion of objectivity.
The so-called “mainstream media” are little more than mouthpieces for left-wing propaganda. Their mission is not to educate the public but to deceive the public by hiding facts and distorting the truth.
What You Need To Know
Here are some facts to help you cut through the lies of the left and media’s obfuscation.
- Let’s not forget why President Trump did this: ISIS has repeatedly told us that they were infiltrating the flow of refugees with terrorists. Western intelligence agencies have repeatedly warned us that ISIS was hiding jihadist fighters among the refugees. Last summer, CIA Director John Brennan told Congress: “[ISIS] is probably exploring a variety of means for infiltrating operatives into the West, including refugee flows, smuggling routes and legitimate methods of travel.”
- We have problems that need addressing. Last year a Senate report noted that the vast majority — 66% — of those charged with terrorist-related crimes since 9/11 were foreign born.
- Every Hollywood starlet and Silicon Valley guru is now claiming that we already have really tough vetting. They are wrong. Just last week, the Los Angeles Times reported that “dozens of Syrian refugees already in the United States” are having to be re-investigated after serious lapses in their vetting were discovered.
- No one has an absolute right to enter our country or to come and go as they wish. That is the misguided view of open borders idealists. As one legal observer noted this morning, foreign travel is heavily regulated. Even U.S. citizens have to have a passport. When you travel, you go through security and customs. You can be detained if necessary.
- This is not a Muslim ban. The most populous Muslim countries in the world — Indonesia, Egypt, India — are not affected by Trump’s moratorium. They are not affected because these countries are not dealing with major Islamic terrorist problems. In fact, 87% of the world’s Muslims are not covered by this alleged “ban.”
The countries covered under the order were determined by Congress and the Obama Administration — not Donald Trump. In 2015, Congress passed the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act. It passed the House of Representatives 407-to-19. (Really “controversial” stuff here.) Even CNN grudginglyconcedes that the countries covered under Trump’s order “were named in a 2016 law concerning immigration visas as ‘countries of concern.'”
So for members of Congress to suddenly claim that the president’s action is “unconstitutional” is ludicrous.
- This is not unprecedented. Barack Obama imposed a longer moratorium on refugees in 2011 after it was discovered that two Iraqi refugees were plotting terrorist attacks. Where were the protests then? Where was the media outrage then?
- Trump’s order did not cause chaos. On the day of the order, more than 320,000 people entered the United States and approximately 200 people were initially detained. They have all been released after their records were examined.
Was this inconvenient for them? Of course. But it was no more inconvenient than what every American is forced to endure when they travel anywhere in our own country now as a result of 9/11 and radical Islamic terrorism.
The chaos at airports was caused by left-wing demonstrators. In many cases they were the same radicals who protested the inauguration. They blocked the access points during inauguration and they blocked security lines at the airports. They did it for the cameras — to make the situation look far worse than it was. They should have been arrested for disrupting security.
- Some in the media are complaining because President Trump is giving preference to Christians in our refugee policies. Barack Obama once condemned such “religious tests” as “shameful.” Except federal law has for years specified that religion should be a key factor in determining refugee status. And last year then-Secretary of State John Kerry told us that ISIS was committing genocide against Christians and other religious minorities.
- The American people support President Trump. A new Rasmussen poll finds that 57% of Americans support the moratorium on “refugees from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen until the federal government improves its ability to screen out potential terrorists from coming here.” Only 33% oppose it.
- Many Arab nations in the Middle East have also closed their borders to Syrian refugees, citing security threats. Nevertheless, it was announced this morning that the Trump Administration is working with Arab nations to try to stabilize the region.
Here’s the bottom line: The Trump/Pence Administration is cleaning up the mess that Obama made in the Middle East over the past eight years. Part of the reason dead Syrian children are washing up on the shores of Europe is that Obama drew red lines in Syria and then ignored them. That gave the Assad regime the greenlight, along with its Russian and Iranian allies, to do virtually anything they wanted.