President trump has been having a hard time. The FBI has told him to stop lying about President Obama. He has closed off his usual tweet flow after a weekend of volatile efforts to deflect attention from his still-uninvestigated Russia connections. Today it may make sense to lay low and slog on with yet another effort to close the door to Muslims.
Yes, we have a new Trump travel ban. Instead of seven predominately Muslim countries denied entry, the president has reduced the number to six, sparing Iraq. The order also shows mercy to those who already have visas.
This will perhaps alleviate airport chaos.
No real change
There was also a change in the ban on Syrian refugees, from forever to 120 days. Some language that suggested favoritism toward Christians was also removed, But the changes will have no bearing on the underlying legal Issues, so the prospect of continued court fights is certain. The ban, critics maintain, is prejudicial toward Muslims.
Substantiating anti-Muslim prejudice
One wonders whether the documented prejudices of Trump and close associates has any bearing on the fate of the president's continuing effort. Trump, Steve Bannon and Pamela Geller are all unabashed supporters of the most prejudicial view of the world that there is. It is the notion of a global assault on Islam based on the sort of premises that Republican politicians enunciated regarding evil empires.
A deafening silence from Trump
The most interesting fact about today's launch of travel ban two is its low-key nature. Gone was the gauzy fanfare of the first ban. This could be seen as Donald Trump living to fight another day. But it also seems like a day of reckoning for the President.
Trumps second executive ban is about to get blocked again 😂😂
— Maneuverin' (@WylinKuzIm1) March 6, 2017
There is not a trace of the new ban noted in Trump's twitter feed.
Indeed, the feed has remained empty so far this Monday. What can the matter be? Could it be that James Comey has Trump in his cross-hairs? Could it be Russia and the weekend's frenzied Trump allegations that Barack Obama wiretapped him? Washington is a pressure cooker. Even presidents are not immune.
