During today's press briefing when Sean Spicer was asked about the travel ban just implemented, the press secretary claimed multiple times, "it's not a travel ban," and when confronted by Trump's own words that call it a ban, he blamed the media and said, "[Trump] is using the words that the media is using."
Even for Sean Spicer, this is a weak excuse.
Earlier today, the Trump administration began their cleanup attempt over the disastrous roll out Friday of Trump's executive order regarding immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Sean Spicer became hot when MSNBC's Kristen Welker offered evidence that it wasn't the media that called it a "ban", but Donald Trump.
Welker said, "Sean, you're saying this was not a ban. This was president's Trump tweet "if the ban were announced with a one-week notice the bad would rush into our country during that week, so he says it's ban."
Spicer replied, "He's using the words that the media is using. But at the end of the day..."
Welker replied, "Those were his words."
Spicer tried to explain that it can't be a ban if they are letting people into the country, but Welker didn't back down and said, "The president himself called it a ban."
Spicer, "I understand that."
Welker continued, "Is he confused or are you confused?"
Spicer replied, "I'm not... the words being used to describe it derive from what the media is calling this. He's been clear it is extreme vetting..."
Every pundit and Trump surrogate called it a "travel ban" up until today's press conferences.
Trump's words during his entire campaign told us he wanted to install a Muslim ban and Rudy Giuliani told Fox News that's exactly what Trump wanted. Rudy bragged that he found a "legal" way to do just that, meaning he banned Muslims from the US while pretending it isn't an unconstitutional religious test.
But everyone knows it's a religious test and a ban on Muslims. That's why the courts have been so quick to put stays in place to stop the Executive Order from being enforced.
But as his incompetence requires, Spicer focussed on the word "ban" as a media creation.
Maybe Spicer could have spent some time on the word "Muslim," since that's what's being "banned," and everyone knows it.
Pathetic.
