CURIOUS THING ABOUT DONALD TRUMP'S MUSLIM BAN.
OF COURSE IT DOESN'T APPLY TO ALL MUSLIM COUNTRIES.
HE SAYS THESE ARE PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS MUSLIM COUNTRIES.
THAT IS WEIRD.
THE SEVEN COUNTRIES THAT ARE ON THE BANNED LIST HAVE LED TO ZERO
FATAL ATTACKS INSIDE THE UNITED STATES IN THE LAST 40 YEARS.
BUT WAIT A MINUTE, IT WAS MUSLIMS THAT DID 9/11.
THAT WAS IN THE LAST 40 YEARS NOT VERY TRUE.
IN FACT, 15 OUT OF THE 19
HIJACKERS WERE SAUDI'S BUT THE SAUDI'S WERE NOT ON THE LIST.
THEY WERE NOT BANNED.
LETCHER TO FIND OUT WHY.
LET'S GO TO THE NEW YORK TIMES HERE.
PRESIDENT TRUMP OMITTED FROM HIS BAN A NUMBER OF OTHER
PREDOMINANTLY MUSLIM NATURES WERE HIS COMPANY HAS DONE
BUSINESS.
THE SEVEN COUNTRIES WHOSE CITIZEN ARE SUBJECT TO THE
BANNER RELATIVELY POOR.
SOME SUCH AS SYRIA ARE SERVICEABLE WAR: OTHERS ARE
ONLY NOW MERGING FOR MORE.
ONE THING THESE COUNTRIES HAVE IN COMMON IS THAT THEY ARE
PLACES WHERE THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION DOES LITTLE TO
NO BUSINESS.
OKAY, THOSE ARE THE COUNTRIES THAT HE DOESN'T HAVE ANY
BUSINESS INTERESTED BUT MAYBE HE IS JUST AS TOUGH ON
COUNTRIES HE DOES HAVE BUSINESS INTEREST IN.
LET'S BE FAIR, LET'S FIND OUT.
BY CONTRAST, OTHER NEIGHBORING MUSLIM COUNTRIES ARE NOT ON THE
LIST EVEN THOUGH SOME OF THEIR CITIZENS POST JUST AS GREAT A
RISK IF NOT GREATER OF EXPORTING TERRORISM TO THE UNITED STATES.
AMONG THEM ARE SAUDI ARABIA, THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AND
EGYPT ARE VAST MAJORITY PEOPLE LIVING IN THESE COUNTRIES,
LIKE THE PEOPLE LIVING IN THE SEVEN SUBJECT TO THE
IMMIGRATION BAN ARE PEACEFUL AND LAW-ABIDING.
BUT THESE THREE COUNTRIES HAVE EXPORTED TERRY TO THE
UNITED STATES IN THE PAST.
THINK ACCOUNTED FOR 18 OF THE 19 TERRORISTS WHO PERPETRATED THE
SEVEN SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACK ON AMERICAN SOIL ATTACK WHICH WAS
DIRECTED BY ANOTHER SAUDI, OSAMA BIN LADEN WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF
AN EGYPTIAN, AYMAN AL-ZAWAHIRI.
HE THOUGHT WHY NOT INCLUDE THEM?
EVEN THE BIGOTS WHO LIKE WHAT THE TRUMP IS DOING.
ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE THE ONES WHO SENT THE PEOPLE WHO
ATTACKED US.
LET'S TURN TO FIND OUT THE ANSWER TO THAT AS WELL.
NEW YORK TIMES CONTINUES.
THESE COUNTRIES UNLIKE THOSE SUBJECT TO THE BAN ARE
ONES WHERE DONALD TRUMP HAS DONE BUSINESS.
IN SAUDI ARABIA, HIS MOST RECENT GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL
DISCLOSURE REVEALED SEVERAL LIMITED LIABILITY TRUMP
CORPORATIONS.
IN EGYPT, HE HAD TO TRUMP COMPANIES REGISTERED.
IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, HE HAD LICENSED HIS NAME TO A
DUBAI GOLF RESORT AND A LUXURY RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT SPA.
THEY GO ON TO EXPLAIN THAT HE ALSO HAS BUSINESS INTERESTS AND
COUNTRIES THAT HAVE HUGE MUSLIM POPULATIONS AS WELL.
INDIA IS NOT PREDOMINANTLY MUSLIM BUT IT HAS ONE OF
THE LARGEST MUSLIM POPULATIONS IN THE WHOLE WORLD.
THEY ARE NOT SUBJECT TO THE BAN.
ALSO, LARGE TRUMP ORGANIZATION COMPANIES AND TIES TO INDIA.
NOT BANNED.
TURKEY IS 99% MUSLIM.
TO BE FAIR, THEY ARE ALSO A NATO ALLY BUT ALSO HAVE TRUMP
BUSINESSES AND IT IS NOT BANNED.
AGAIN, LIKE THE NEW YORK TIMES, I DON'T BELIEVE ANY OF
THESE COUNTRIES SHOULD BE BANNED.
IT'S CRAZY BUT ARE YOU BEGINNING TO SEE A PATTERN AS TO WHO
GETS BANNON WHO DOESN'T?
IT REALLY DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE PEOPLE THAT
ACTUALLY DID THE TERRORISM ON AMERICAN SOIL.
NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM.
NEW YORK TIMES THEN ADDS THEIR OPINION.
THEY SAY OUR GOVERNMENT SHOULD INSTEAD SCREEN ALL IMMIGRANTS
FROM POTENTIAL LINKS TO CRIME OR TERRORISM, AS IT HAS LONG DONE.
SAYING YOU DON'T DO A BLANKET BAN ON COUNTRIES OR
RELIGIONS AND IN THIS CASE, YES, CHRISTIANS HAVE PRIORITIES
SO THEY ARE MUSLIM MAJORITY COUNTRIES AND THE BAN IS
SPECIFICALLY ABOUT MUSLIMS.
THEY ARE DE-PRIORITIZED, CHRISTIANS ARE PRIORITIZED.
YES, THAT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH RELIGION BUT THE NEW YORK
TIMES IS SAYING
HEY, WE NEED TO VET PEOPLE WHO NEED TO COME INTO THIS
COUNTRY.
WE ALL AGREE WITH THAT, WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL
WITH IT.
IN FACT, WE HAVE ONE OF THE LONGEST VETTING PROCESSES
IN THE WORLD.
IT TAKES 18 TO 24 MONTHS BEFORE YOU GET
ANY KIND
OF LEGAL STATUS IN THIS COUNTRY, TO BE ABLE TO COME IN, BUT NOW
THEY ARE SAYING I DON'T CARE.
EVEN IF YOU'VE GONE THROUGH THAT, YOU ARE STILL NOT
GOING TO GET AND IF YOU ARE FROM THE SEVEN COUNTRIES AND YOU
ARE MUSLIM.
NEW YORK TIMES CONCLUDES: DISCRIMINATION BASED ON
NATIONAL ORIGIN IS A THINLY VEILED ATTEMPT TO
DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RELIGION.
INDEED, PRESIDENT TRUMP HAS ADMITTED THAT HE WANTS TO
PRIORITIZE THE SETTLING OF CHRISTIAN REFUGEES.
SO IF YOU ARE CHRISTIAN, YOU CAN MOVE TO THE HEAD OF THE LINE.
IF YOU ARE MUSLIM, YOU MOVE TO THE BACK OF THE LINE.
WHERE HAVE WE SEEN THIS BEFORE?
DISCRIMINATING BASED ON RELIGIOUS IS A DISASTROUS
IDEA, NOT JUST IN RECENT HISTORY IN EUROPE, BUT REMEMBER,
THE REASON WHY A LOT OF OUR ANCESTORS CAME TO AMERICA
IN THE FIRST PLACE WAS TO FLEE RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION GOING
ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE PURITANS.
THAT WAS PART OF THE REASON THIS COUNTRY WAS FORMED IN THE FIRST
PLACE IS TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T HAVE RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION.
BUT HERE WE ARE AGAIN.
AND NOW WE HAVE DECIDED WHO THE NEW OTHER IS AND WHO THE
NEW ENEMY IS.
AND THIS CASE IT IS MUSLIMS, BUT PARTICULARLY POOR MUSLIMS AND
ONES THAT DON'T HAVE CONTRACTS WITH THE TRUMP ORGANIZATION.