“So, we have a travel ban, but they didn’t say that. They didn’t say that. They forgot to tell you the last part. So, we’re keeping terrorists, we’re keeping criminals and violent extremists, the hell out of our country, we’re keeping them out, and we’re doing great on the border.”
— President Trump, campaign rally in Sunrise, Fla., Nov. 26, 2019
“It’s called, excuse me, a travel ban, and it was recently voted on very favorably in a thing called the United States Supreme Court, was held totally constitutional, and we are now keeping terrorists, criminals and violent extremists the hell out of our country.”
— Trump, campaign rally in Bossier City, La., Nov. 14, 2019
“My administration implemented the travel ban to block migration from some of the world’s most dangerous and deadly places. And we’re keeping terrorists, criminals and violent extremists the hell out of our country. That’s what we’re doing.”
— Trump, campaign rally in Monroe, La., Nov. 6, 2019
“My administration implemented the travel ban on some of the world’s most dangerous countries. A lot of people were against it. They said, isn’t that terrible. Countries that have crime rates that are so high, you wouldn’t even believe it’s possible, and we have a travel ban now. We don’t take people from those countries, I’m sorry.”
— Trump, campaign rally in Lexington, Ky., Nov. 4, 2019
“He [Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood] opposed our travel ban, which is so important that we won in the United States Supreme Court to keep terrorists the hell out of our country.”
— Trump, campaign rally in Tupelo, Miss., Nov. 1, 2019
Starting in November, Trump began making a new claim at his campaign rallies — that the travel ban imposed early in his administration is keeping “terrorists” and “violent extremists” out of the country.
Trump has offered no evidence to back up his claim — and the White House did not respond to a request for comment — but his statements are now problematic in the wake of the deadly shooting rampage at a Navy flight school in Pensacola, Fla., by a Saudi military student, Ahmed Mohammed al-Shamrani.
Trump’s travel ban covers these countries: Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. (Chad was originally on the list but was removed in 2018 after the White House said the country improved security measures; Iraq and Sudan had been on earlier versions but not the one that passed muster with the Supreme Court.) So that means Saudi Arabia would not be covered.