The White House press secretary Sean Spicer claimed that the US administration’s travel ban policy constitutes a ban based on nationality, not religion.
In a press conference held on Monday, Spicer said the travel ban order signed by US President Donald Trump was not targeting Muslims.
But soon he had to respond a question and elaborate on the reason why Trump’s campaign website still contains the statement on Muslim ban.
“If this White House is no longer calling this a Muslim ban, as the president did initially, why does the president’s website still explicitly call for ‘preventing Muslim immigration’ and it says ‘Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” ABC reporter Cecilia Vega asked Spicer.
According to a top US political website, The Hill, Spicer said he was aware of what was on the campaign website.
“But insisted the administration’s policy is a travel ban based on nationality, not religion,” The Hill said on its website.
Apparently, however, after comments by the White House press secretary, the Muslim travel ban statement was soon removed from Trump’s campaign website.
“Minutes after we asked the WH why the President’s campaign website still called for a Muslim ban, it appears the statement was deleted,” ABC reporter Cecilia Vega said in a twitter message.
Trump signed the executive order in January, placing a 90-day travel ban on people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, and Yemen and a 120-day ban on any refugees.
Iraq was exempted from the ban on March 6.
Source: Agencies
