Today, back on his “Look, I can read stiltedly from a teleprompter” pivot, Donald Trump laid out one of the most extreme foreign policy proposals since the Cold War. His new policy – what he calls “extreme vetting” – would force immigrants to take an ideology test to see if they are worthy of being in America.
The deep, twisted, disgusting irony of his proposal is that he himself would be barred from entering the USA as an immigrant if it was implemented.
Here’s what he had to say:
A Trump Administration will establish a clear principle that will govern all decisions pertaining to immigration. We will be tough. We will be even extreme. Extreme. We should only admit into this country those who share our values and respect our people.
In the Cold War, we had an ideological screening test. The time is overdue to develop a new screening test for the threats we face today. I call it “extreme vetting. I call it extreme – EXTREME – vetting. Our country has enough problems. We don’t need more and these are problems like we’ve never had before.
In addition to screening out all members or sympathizers of terrorist groups, we must also screen out any who have hostile attitudes towards our country or its principles – or who believe that Sharia law should supplant American law.
Those who do not believe in our Constitution, or who support bigotry and hatred, will not be admitted for immigration into the country.
Only those who we expect to flourish in our country – and to embrace a tolerant American society – should be issued visas.
If American policy were to prevent anyone who supports “bigotry and hatred” from entering as an immigrant and would allow in only those who “embrace a tolerant American society”, Donald Trump himself would be barred from entry. In fact, the vast majority of the Republicans in this country would face trouble and certainly all 17 of the men and women who ran in the Republican presidential primary would be denied entry. There hasn’t been a cohort of more bigoted, hateful, intolerant men and women in the public sphere in this country in a very, very long time.
