Yesterday, President-elect, Donald Trump, reaffirmed that he may hold good on what he had said earlier on barring the entry of Muslims into the U.S. Donald Trump, at his Mar-a-Lago resort in South Florida, was accompanied by his Chief of Staff, Reince Priebus, and Senior Advisor, retired Gen. Michael Flynn, when he said,
“You know my plans all along and I’ve been proven to be right,” during a brief parlay with reporters he went on to say I was “100 per cent correct. What’s happening is disgraceful.”
News had hit global channels, that a Tunisian Muslim was the suspect, for killing 12 people and injurying over 48 more, during the Berlin truck attack on Monday 19 December. Reporters asked Donald Trump whether he still felt comfortable with his position on the campaign trail regarding Muslims. He confirmed that he would continue with his plans to create a Muslim registry and to stop Muslim immigration to the United States.
However, he did not clarify the exact details of what stopping Muslims into the country meant; a wholesale on Muslim immigration or only those from countries that had a history of Islamic extremism.
Trump proposed the Muslim ban during his primary campaign to win the Republican ticket, at the time he drew sharp criticism from Republicans in his own party s well as democrats. During the general election he toned down his rhetoric and said he would favor policies that would temporarily halt immigration from countries with ties to terrorism, though he did not specify which countries and he did not totally disavow the Muslim ban, which is still on his campaign website.
I didn’t suggest a database-a reporter did. We must defeat Islamic terrorism & have surveillance, including a watch list, to protect America
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 20, 2015
Statement on Preventing Muslim Immigration: https://t.co/HCWU16z6SR pic.twitter.com/d1dhaIs0S7
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2015
A short while later, Jason Miller, transition team’s communications director made a statement “President-elect Trump has been clear that we will suspend admission of those from countries with high terrorism rates and apply a strict vetting procedure for those seeking entry in order to protect American lives.” He went on to say. “This might upset those with their heads stuck in the politically correct sand, but nothing is more important than keeping our people safe.”
The last two weeks since Mr Trump took the Taiwanese President’s call, he has been espousing a hard line on US foreign policy. He tweeted telling China off for building in military installments in the South China Seas, last week condemned the Chinese after they took the underwater navy drone, by calling it an “unprecedented act” and has given the impression that he will rethink the ‘one-China’ policy. Last week he also tweeted that he will be creating ‘safe zones’ in Syria that would be paid by the Arab countries. Today he tweeted against the UN resolution introduced by Egypt, condemning Israeli settlements in a proposed resolution that called them “a flagrant violation” of international law. The proposed resolution also stressed that “the cessation of all Israeli settlement activities is essential for salvaging the two-state solution.”
The resolution being considered at the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel should be vetoed….cont: https://t.co/s8rXKKZNF1
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 22, 2016
read more: A vision of Trump’s Middle East: back to the future
On Sunday 18, December, in an interview aired on CBS, ‘Face the Nation’, Henry Kissinger, the grand statesman of American international relations, said he thought that Trump potentially could accomplish something remarkable. “I believe he has the possibility of going down in history as a very considerable president.” He went on to explain
“Donald Trump is a phenomenon that foreign countries haven’t seen. So, it is a shocking experience to them that he came into office. At the same time, extraordinary opportunity,”
During the presidential campaign, Mr. Trump gave mixed messages on Syria. He called for the creation of “a big, beautiful safe zone” in the country to stem the tide of refugees from Syria to Europe. But he has also said the real enemy the U.S faced was ISIS and not Mr Bashar al- Assad, thus they should avoid getting further drawn into the conflict.
While, his position on barring Muslim immigrants was toned down after his December 2015, call for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on,” it would not be surprising that events such as the Berlin attack, will reignite his latent fire on Muslim – both worldwide and domestic.