President Trump reiterated his determination to “protect our nation from radical Islamic terrorism” Tuesday night as he defended his decision to suspend travel from seven Muslim-majority countries.
“Our obligation is to serve, protect, and defend the citizens of the United States,” Trump said in his first speech to a joint session of Congress. “We are also taking strong measures to protect our nation from radical Islamic terrorism.”
That statement has policy and symbolic significance. Trump’s new national security advisor, Gen. H.R. McMaster, advised him and the staff of the National Security Council not to use that term, after Trump made a point of stressing the term during his campaign.
“Even a small change like referring to ‘radical Islamist terrorism’ would be an improvement, in his view,” a White House aide told Politico.
The remark prefaced Trump’s defense of his travel ban, which affects seven countries whose governments have struggled to maintain order in the face of jihadist threats, while the Department of Homeland Security develops new vetting procedures.
“It is not compassionate, but reckless, to allow uncontrolled entry from places where proper vetting cannot occur,” Trump said. “Those given the high honor of admission to the United States should support this country and love its people and its values. We cannot allow a beachhead of terrorism to form inside America — we cannot allow our Nation to become a sanctuary for extremists. That is why my Administration has been working on improved vetting procedures, and we will shortly take new steps to keep our Nation safe — and to keep out those who would do us harm.”
Trump is expected to release a revised version of the order this week, after a federal appellate court halted implementation of the original order because it was written in a way that applied to legal permanent residents of the United States.
