"He's using the words that the media is using," Spicer said, as another reporter shouted back, "It's his words!"
Jan 31, 2017
White House press secretary Sean Spicer reopened his propaganda playbook on Tuesday, telling reporters that President Donald Trump's executive order blocking entry to the U.S. for refugees, visitors, and green card holders from majority-Muslim countries was "not a travel ban."
"It's not a Muslim ban. It's not a travel ban," Spicer told reporters in a heated, Orwellian exchange. "It's a vetting system to keep America safe."
The order, signed last Friday, blocks Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. indefinitely and puts a temporary hold on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan.
Its immediate implementation saw dozens of individuals being detained at airports across the country over the weekend, prompting widespread, ongoing protests and legal actions that secured an 11th-hour victory for civil liberties lawyers when federal judges in four states temporarily blocked parts or all of the order.
Spicer's comments on Tuesday prompted a flurry of questions from journalists, who pointed to Trump's own tweets referring to the order as a ban. Spicer blamed that on the press, claiming that the president had only used the term to reference the media's adopted frame.
"He's using the words that the media is using," Spicer said, as another reporter shouted back, "It's his words!"
NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker said, "The president himself called it a ban."
Spicer replied, "I understand."
"Is he confused," Welker continued, "or are you confused?"
"No, I'm not confused," Spicer insisted. "I think that the words being used to describe it are derived from what the media is calling this. ... [Trump] has been very clear that it is extreme vetting."
"You have been part of the confusion," he said to the press pool.
Trump has called the order a ban on more than one occasion, including on Saturday, when he defended the policy at a photo op in the Oval Office by saying, "We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."
Spicer's comments echoed those of Trump's chief strategist and national security adviser Steve Bannon, who earlier this month called the media "the opposition party," and the president himself, who made similar remarks in a later interview.
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer reopened his propaganda playbook on Tuesday, telling reporters that President Donald Trump's executive order blocking entry to the U.S. for refugees, visitors, and green card holders from majority-Muslim countries was "not a travel ban."
"It's not a Muslim ban. It's not a travel ban," Spicer told reporters in a heated, Orwellian exchange. "It's a vetting system to keep America safe."
The order, signed last Friday, blocks Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. indefinitely and puts a temporary hold on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan.
Its immediate implementation saw dozens of individuals being detained at airports across the country over the weekend, prompting widespread, ongoing protests and legal actions that secured an 11th-hour victory for civil liberties lawyers when federal judges in four states temporarily blocked parts or all of the order.
Spicer's comments on Tuesday prompted a flurry of questions from journalists, who pointed to Trump's own tweets referring to the order as a ban. Spicer blamed that on the press, claiming that the president had only used the term to reference the media's adopted frame.
"He's using the words that the media is using," Spicer said, as another reporter shouted back, "It's his words!"
NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker said, "The president himself called it a ban."
Spicer replied, "I understand."
"Is he confused," Welker continued, "or are you confused?"
"No, I'm not confused," Spicer insisted. "I think that the words being used to describe it are derived from what the media is calling this. ... [Trump] has been very clear that it is extreme vetting."
"You have been part of the confusion," he said to the press pool.
Trump has called the order a ban on more than one occasion, including on Saturday, when he defended the policy at a photo op in the Oval Office by saying, "We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."
Spicer's comments echoed those of Trump's chief strategist and national security adviser Steve Bannon, who earlier this month called the media "the opposition party," and the president himself, who made similar remarks in a later interview.
Nadia Prupis
Nadia Prupis is a former Common Dreams staff writer. She wrote on media policy for Truthout.org and has been published in New America Media and AlterNet. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in English in 2008.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer reopened his propaganda playbook on Tuesday, telling reporters that President Donald Trump's executive order blocking entry to the U.S. for refugees, visitors, and green card holders from majority-Muslim countries was "not a travel ban."
"It's not a Muslim ban. It's not a travel ban," Spicer told reporters in a heated, Orwellian exchange. "It's a vetting system to keep America safe."
The order, signed last Friday, blocks Syrian refugees from entering the U.S. indefinitely and puts a temporary hold on travelers from Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan.
Its immediate implementation saw dozens of individuals being detained at airports across the country over the weekend, prompting widespread, ongoing protests and legal actions that secured an 11th-hour victory for civil liberties lawyers when federal judges in four states temporarily blocked parts or all of the order.
Spicer's comments on Tuesday prompted a flurry of questions from journalists, who pointed to Trump's own tweets referring to the order as a ban. Spicer blamed that on the press, claiming that the president had only used the term to reference the media's adopted frame.
"He's using the words that the media is using," Spicer said, as another reporter shouted back, "It's his words!"
NBC News White House correspondent Kristen Welker said, "The president himself called it a ban."
Spicer replied, "I understand."
"Is he confused," Welker continued, "or are you confused?"
"No, I'm not confused," Spicer insisted. "I think that the words being used to describe it are derived from what the media is calling this. ... [Trump] has been very clear that it is extreme vetting."
"You have been part of the confusion," he said to the press pool.
Trump has called the order a ban on more than one occasion, including on Saturday, when he defended the policy at a photo op in the Oval Office by saying, "We're going to have a very, very strict ban and we're going to have extreme vetting, which we should have had in this country for many years."
Spicer's comments echoed those of Trump's chief strategist and national security adviser Steve Bannon, who earlier this month called the media "the opposition party," and the president himself, who made similar remarks in a later interview.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.