White House press secretary Sean Spicer said in an interview with ABC's 'This Week,' the seven countries included in Trump's executive order on travel ban were originally flagged by the Obama administration.
In the hours since President Trump signed an executive order on immigration that impacted citizens from seven predominantly Muslim countries, many have raised questions about the rationale behind including those specific nations.
Some media outlets also pointed out an apparent commonality among the included countries. The Washington Post said, "The seven nations targeted for new visitation restrictions by President Trump on Friday all have something in common: They are places he does not appear to have any business interests."
However, during an interview with ABC News' 'This Week,' White House press secretary Sean Spicer suggested a much different reason, noting, "...these 7 countries were identified by the Obama administration needing further travel scrutiny."
When pressed why these seven first and why not include other countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia, Spicer noted, "...we are looking at all of this holistically...those were identified by the previous administration, there were further travel restrictions already in place from those seven countries...what the president did was take the first step through this executive order of ensuring that we are looking at the entire system..."
Trump also defended his controversial move to the public, tweeting on Sunday, “Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!”
