Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway blames media for uproar Trump immigration order
Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway blames media for uproar Trump immigration order ·CNBC
Matthew J. Belvedere
Presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway told CNBC on Monday there was no reason to delay carrying out the executive order on temporarily banning travel for "foreign nationals or citizens" from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Appearing on "Squawk Box," Conway said President Donald Trump needs to tweet to get the real information out. "This total misinformation and what I would say information 'underload' about the facts and figures ... are astonishing."
Trump tweeted this morning:
"Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage,.....
"protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer. Secretary Kelly said that all is going well with very few problems. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!
"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!
"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!"
In the first 23 hours, 109 people were denied entry upon arrival. According to NBC News, 173 were denied boarding of incoming flights to the U.S. from the seven countries: Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
The number affected on Saturday was 375, compared with 325,000 travelers who arrive on average daily.
After a weekend of protests and detentions of foreigners at American airports, Trump defended his move. He said the executive order he signed Friday was strictly about national security and not religion.
"This is a very narrowly prescribed situation, executive order," for 90 days, Conway said. "Here it is: If you are a foreign national or citizen of one of these seven countries that were first identified by President Obama in 2015, then you cannot come to the United States at this moment."
After the arrest of two Iraqis on federal terrorism charges in Kentucky that year, the State Department stopped processing Iraq refugees for six months, according to The Washington Post.
"If you have a special situation, you'll be evaluated on a case by case basis," Conway told CNBC on Monday.
"This country has an interest in the full faith and credit or our green card or LPR [lawful permanent resident] program," Conway said. "That is not who this narrowly prescribed, temporary halt is meant to apply to."
On Saturday, a federal judge in New York temporarily barred the U.S. from deporting detainees from the countries covered in the order.
In a background call with reporters on Sunday, a senior administration official declared the order's implementation "a massive success," claiming it had been done "seamlessly and with extraordinary professionalism."
Addressing of the execution of the order, Conway said: "Keeping the country safe is the president's first obligation. And why would you delay implementation of a measure that's meant to meet that objective."
"[Trump's] first objective is not to mollify protesters who will never be happy even after they benefit from his rollback of regulations, his tax relief package, his infrastructure [spending], and his making health care more affordable," she said.
Trump's move also drew sharp rebuke from Silicon Valley, which relies heavily on immigrant workers, some of whom have helped start Alphabet (GOOGL)'s Google, Facebook (FB), eBay (EBAY) and Yahoo (YHOO).
Google co-founder and Alphabet President Sergey Brin — who came to the U.S. from the Soviet Union — joined protesters at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday night to show his personal support for the travelers caught up in Trump's order.
Brin told a Forbes reporter "I'm here because I'm a refugee."
Facing backlash from users, Uber said it would create a $3 million defense fund to help cover the legal expenses associated with the executive order.
Customers became angered after the ride-hailing service did not shutdown service at New York's Kennedy International on Saturday, in solidarity with a work-stoppage called by a cab-driver group.
