Outgoing National Counterterrorism Center Director Nick Rasmussen thinks that President Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric and the policies of the administration like the travel ban are making counterterrorism more difficult, CNN reports.
“I don’t think it’s arguable it’s more difficult when the environment is contaminated by mutual suspicion. If you’re increasing the amount of suspicion and distress on these communities, it places more challenges in our way,” he said.
He also said that Trump’s comments and policies such as the travel ban are making his job more difficult.
In the meantime, Trump’s tweets and statements, as well as the travel ban, were discussed during federal appeals court hearing last week on the legality of the travel ban. Lawyers and judges discussed whether to take them into consideration while examining whether the ban was illegally motivated by anti-Muslim animus.
“What do we do when we have multiple instances when the President has tweeted about Muslims before the election, during the election and just a week or so ago? Do we just ignore reality?” Judge James A. Wynn asked.
The White House defended Trump’s comments. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had retweeted anti-Muslim content to elevate the conversation.
Last month the president retweetеd three inflammatory videos from a British far-right account rife with anti-Muslim content and sparked criticism from highest British officials. The messages that the president retweeted contained footages of purported Muslims assaulting people and smashing a statue of the Virgin Mary. Trump’s support for those messages was not welcomed. It was widely criticized in the United Kingdom, with Prime Minister Theresa May being one of the critics of Trump’s move.
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