At a rally in Maine Thursday, Donald Trump said again that he watched video of Iran receiving money from the U.S. Trump's own campaign has said that video doesn't exist. He also railed against Muslim immigration. See Trump's full remarks.
Trump now says even legal immigrants are security threat
Anti-Trump demonstrators dressed as a wall gather at the main entrance of the Quicken Loans Arena on the third day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio on July 20, 2016. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)
First Donald Trump said that he wanted to block nearly all foreign Muslims from entering the United States. More recently, he decided to stop using the word "Muslim" as he called for halting immigration from countries with high rates of terrorism, although he has yet to say which countries that would include.
At a rally in Portland, Maine, on Thursday afternoon, Trump provided a lengthy explanation of why he thinks the United States needs to be skeptical of immigrants from many countries, even if they follow the legal process. Reading from notes, Trump listed nearly a dozen examples of immigrants, refugees or students who came to the United States legally -- often applying for and receiving citizenship -- and then plotted to kill Americans, sometimes successfully doing so. The countries that he referenced in these examples: Somalia, Morocco, Uzbekistan (he asked the crowd where it was located), Syria, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen (which he pronounced "yay-men"). Trump's staff has yet to confirm if there are countries from which the nominee wants to limit immigration.
"We're letting people come in from terrorist nations that shouldn't be allowed because you can't vet them," Trump said. "There's no way of vetting them. You have no idea who they are. This could be the great Trojan horse of all time."
At another point in the rally, Trump said: "Hillary Clinton wants to have them come in by the hundreds of thousands, just remember. This has nothing to do with politics, folks. This is a whole different level. This has to do with pure, raw stupidity. Okay?"
Trump has long called for a crackdown on illegal immigration, which he has framed as a national security concern. In his announcement speech last year, Trump described illegal Mexican immigrants as rapists and criminals. At numerous rallies, mothers and fathers whose children have been killed by illegal immigrants have shared their heartbreaking stories. Trump has said that building a wall along the border with Mexico will not only keep out illegal immigrants but also criminals, drug traffickers and terrorists. And he has proposed deporting the millions of immigrants illegally living here, starting with those who have committed crimes.
For more than 10 months, Trump has opposed allowing any Syrian refugees into the country because they could be terrorists, and he has promised to kick out all Syrian refugees currently in the country. In December, Trump called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." Last month Trump said that his position on banning Muslims has "gotten bigger," as he's now focusing on territories with terrorism problems. Last week Trump told Fox News' Sean Hannity: "People don’t want me to say 'Muslim.' I guess I prefer not saying it, frankly, myself. So we’re talking about territories." But he has yet to say which territories he would target.
Within minutes of taking the stage in Maine on Thursday afternoon, Trump warned the crowd of outsiders "pouring into our country," and he promised to build a wall along the border. He was interrupted by protesters who held up pocket-sized copies of the Constitution. The crowd booed and then chanted: "USA! USA! USA!"
As the protesters were led away, Trump resumed: "A Trump rally is the safest place in our country to be. Believe me. Believe me. Right? It is safe. But if we keep going the way it is, our whole country is becoming different."
Trump warned the crowd that "radical Islamic terrorism" is the "most important issues facing civilization right now" and that the United States has to be more careful in allowing foreigners to visit or move here.
"We've just seen many, many crimes getting worse all the time, and as Maine knows -- a major destination for Somali refugees. Right? Am I right?" Trump said, as the crowd affirmed what he had said. "Well, they're all talking about it: Maine. Somali. Refugees. We admit hundreds of thousands, you admit into Maine, and to other places in the United States. Hundreds of thousands of refugees, and they're coming from among the most dangerous territories and countries anywhere in the world -- right? -- a practice which has to stop. It has to stop... This is a practice that has to stop."
To back up this point, Trump rattled through a list of cautionary examples -- nearly all of which appear on a list of 26 examples released in November by Sen. Jeff Sessions [ http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/11/26_terror_plots_in_us_tied_to.html ] (R-Ala.), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee who chairs an immigration subcommittee. Sessions has closely advised Trump for months and one of his former aides, Stephen Miller, is now a senior policy adviser to Trump and often speaks at Trump's rallies about the dangers of immigration. In nearly each example, Trump noted that the suspect in question came to the United States legally and was granted citizenship.
"They're the ones we know about. There are so many that we don't know about. You're going to have problems like you've never seen," Trump said. "We don't know where these people are. You know when the government puts them around... for the most part, very few people know where they even are. We don't even know where they are located. I'm telling you, I've said it before: This could be the great Trojan horse of all time. They're coming in. They're coming in."
Here are the examples Trump gave:
Somalia: Trump referenced a Washington Times article about thousands of Somali refugees resettling in Minnesota and "creating an enclave of immigrants with high unemployment that is both stressing the state’s safety net and creating a rich pool of potential recruiting targets for Islamist terror groups." The article quotes a FBI official saying Minnesota has seen recruitment videos targeted at Somalis in their state but that authorities have been working closely with the Somali community. "It's happening," Trump said. "It's happening. You see it, you read about it. You can see it." (You can read the full article here: "Feds’ relocation of Somali refugees stresses Minn. welfare, raises terror fears [ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/feb/24/islamist-terror-groups-target-minnesota-somali-ref/ ].")
Chechnya: Trump noted that Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the so-called Boston bombers, came to the United States " through the political asylum process [ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/details-emerge-on-suspected-boston-bombers/2013/04/19/ef2c2566-a8e4-11e2-a8e2-5b98cb59187f_story.html ]." Trump did not mention that the brothers were from Chechnya, but he noted that the younger brother became a naturalized U.S. citizen on Sept.11, 2012, while the older brother had an application pending. "Oh that's wonderful, right?" Trump said. "We take them. We take them."
Morocco: Trump said that a "Moroccan national on a student visa... was arrested for plotting to blow up a university and a federal courthouse." Some background that Trump didn't include: Federal authorities began investigating El Mehdi Semlali Fathi, a native of Morocco who was living in Connecticut on a long-expired student visa. Fathi told a friend he wanted to use "toy planes" to bomb a university and a federal building, but he was never arrested on terrorism-related charges. Instead, Fathi was arrested on immigration-related charges, and in October 2014, he was sentenced to 24 months of imprisonment [ https://www.justice.gov/usao-ct/pr/citizen-morocco-sentenced-2-years-prison-fabricating-refugee-application-remain-us ] for fabricating a refugee application. He was set to be deported upon his release.
Uzbekistan: Trump said that a Uzbek refugee living in Idaho -- he paused to ask the audience: "You know where that is? You know where that is, huh?" -- was arrested and charged with "teaching terror recruits how to build bombs." Trump opined: "Oh, wonderful, wonderful. I don't want them in this country." Fazliddin Kurbanov was arrested in 2013 and charged with teaching people to build bombs that would target public transportation. Earlier this year he was sentenced to 25 years in prison [ http://www.idahostatesman.com/news/local/crime/article53610300.html ].
Again, Somalia: Trump mentioned the Oregon college student who plotted to blow up a Christmas tree during a lighting ceremony, noting that he was a Somalian refugee who gained citizenship. In October 2014, Mohamed Osman Mohamud was sentenced to 30 years in prison [ http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/01/justice/oregon-terror-sentencing/ ] for trying to use a weapon of mass destruction.
Afghanistan and the Philippines: Trump said an immigrant from Afghanistan who became a U.S. citizen and a legal permanent resident from the Philippines were convicted of "plotting to join Al-Quada and the Taliban in order to kill as many Americans as possible." In February 2015 [ https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-men-who-provided-material-support-terrorists-and-plotted-kill-american-targets ], Sohiel Omar Kabir, originally of Afghanistan, and Ralph Deleon, a citizen of the Philippines who was a lawful permanent U.S. resident, were sentenced to 300 months in federal prison for participating in plots to provide material support to terrorists and kill American military members.
Iraq: Trump said an Iraqi immigrant who applied for and received U.S. citizenship was arrested for lying to federal authorities about pledging allegiance to ISIS and his travels to Syria and wanting to "kill as many Americans as possible, didn't care how." Bilal Abood, who worked for the U.S. military as a translator during the Iraq War, was sentenced to four years in federal prison in May for lying to the FBI about traveling to Syria and sending a tweet that pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamic State. Abood testified that he traveled to Syria to fight with the Free Syrian Army, which opposes the Islamic State, according to the Dallas Morning News [ http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2016/05/mesquite-man-who-lied-about-allegiance-to-isis-leader-given-4-years-in-prison.html/ ]. During the sentencing, the judge said there no evidence suggesting Abood was planning a terrorist attack.
Yemen: Trump said an immigrant from Yemen was arrested for trying to join the Islamic State and illegally buying firearms to "kill as many military personnel as possible." A version of Jeff Sessions' list states that this happened in September 2014 but provided no links to additional information.
Donald Trump's comments about Minnesota Somalis met with outrage Mohamoud Ibrahim, right, a specialist in the Army Reserve, said goodbye to his friends after the Friday prayer at the Islamic Institute of Minnesota's mosque in Burnsville, MN, Friday, August 5, 2016. Ibrahim will leave for Wisconsin on Saturday for three weeks for Army training. Trump called state a terror recruitment hotbed. August 7, 2016 http://www.startribune.com/donald-trump-s-swipe-at-minnesota-somalis-met-with-outrage/389353501/ [with comments]
Lezlee Westine, who served as deputy assistant to the president in the Bush administration, has expressed support for Hillary Clinton. AP Photo
By Nolan D. McCaskill 08/08/16 09:20 AM EDT
A former aide of President George W. Bush undercut Donald Trump’s economic address before it even began Monday, leading the latest batch of Republican defections by casting Hillary Clinton as the best candidate to grow the economy.
Westine, who served as the White House’s director of public liaison and deputy assistant to the president in the Bush administration, is part of the latest contingent of Republicans to cross party lines to back Clinton.
“She has the expertise and commitment to American values to grow the economy, create jobs and protect America at home and abroad,” Westine added.
Westine is joined by former Michigan Gov. William Milliken, who suggested a vote for Trump would be a choice to “embark on a path that has doomed other governments and nations throughout history.”
“I am saddened and dismayed that the Republican Party this year has nominated a candidate who has repeatedly demonstrated that he does not embrace those ideals,” Milliken said in a statement, according to the Detroit Free Press [ http://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2016/08/08/former-gov-milliken-endorses-clinton-over-trump/88340600/ ]. “Because I feel so strongly about our nation's future, I will be joining the growing list of former and present government officials in casting my vote for Hillary Clinton for president in 2016.”
Former New Hampshire Sen. Gordon Humphrey said he would cast his ballot for Clinton if she were “neck and neck” with Trump in his state. But Trump, he said, is a “defective nominee” who is “deranged” and whose “psyche is sick,” and the Republican National Committee should replace him as the nominee.
“It would be the height of irresponsibility to give him the powers of the presidency. It would be an act of recklessness to give him the office of commander in chief,” he told MSNBC [ http://www.msnbc.com/thomas-roberts/watch/fmr-nh-senator-trump-mentally-unfit-to-be-president-740048451640 ] on Monday. “This needs to be said, and there’s a growing census in agreement that Donald Trump is mentally unfit to be president of the United States. And the RNC on that account, this week or next, should revoke the nomination and choose a candidate who is experienced, but at the same time, of mental soundness.”
Trump Windham rally, it's taken me 3 sessions to get to
20:26 where he has just said Obama and Clinton are responsible for ISIS .. that one is the 3rd last link in your Trump Windham You Tube section .. it starts when he does
I have to watch him more to fully feel and so to fully understand the punishment he is subjecting you American people to.