Comment & Debate
Richard Painter and Norman Eisen, “Who Hasn’t Trump Banned? People From Places Where He’s Done Business”, The New York Times, January 29, 2017: “Overlooked in the furor is another troubling aspect of the situation: President Trump omitted from his ban a number of other predominantly Muslim nations where his company has done business. This adds further illegitimacy to one of the most arbitrary executive actions in our recent history, and raises significant constitutional questions. The seven countries whose citizens are subject to the ban are relatively poor. Some, such as Syria, are torn by civil war; others are only now emerging from war. One thing these countries have in common is that they are places where the Trump organization does little to no business. By contrast, other neighboring Muslim countries are not on the list, even though some of their citizens pose 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… They accounted for 18 of the 19 terrorists who perpetrated the Sept. 11 attack on American soil… These countries, unlike those subject to the ban, are ones where Donald Trump has done business.”