Democrats Criticize Trump's Travel Ban as Distraction from Controversial Spending Bill
Democrats are criticizing President Donald Trump's travel ban announcement, claiming it is a distraction from his spending bill that they believe will harm regular Americans. Senator Chris Murphy accused Trump of trying to divert attention from the bill, which includes extending tax cuts and increasing spending at the U.S.–Mexico border. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would significantly increase the national debt. Murphy and other Democrats argue that the bill benefits the wealthy at the expense of the poor.
Congressman Jesus “Chuy” Garcia and actor Wendell Pierce also criticized the travel ban, calling it a distraction from the alleged corruption of the Trump Administration and the negative impact of the tax bill on the budget. They believe that the travel ban is an attempt to divert attention from the controversial aspects of the spending bill. Dem strategist Sawyer Hackett suggested that the travel ban and investigation of Trump's predecessor were tactics to distract from the criticism of the spending bill.
President Trump announced the travel ban, which will fully restrict travel from 12 nations and partially restrict travel from seven others starting on June 9th. Some Democrats compared the travel ban to Trump's previous "Muslim travel ban" and condemned it as discriminatory and not a valid national security strategy. Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar and Senator Adam Schiff expressed their disapproval of the ban on social media.