Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced a travel ban impacting numerous African nations.
The ban was met with the expected pushback from Democrats, but there has since been another development.
Now, some of those African nations affected by Trump's move are banning Americans from entering their countries.
On Dec. 16, Trump announced that he was adding countries to his existing travel ban.
The White House announced, “Today, President Donald J. Trump signed a Proclamation expanding and strengthening entry restrictions on nationals from countries with demonstrated, persistent, and severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing to protect the Nation from national security and public safety threats.”
Trump then added Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria.
This was an expansion of the travel ban that emerged as a result of Proclamation 10949, which had already named Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
Anytime Trump does something like this, regardless of the actual reason, Democrats play the race card. After Vice President JD Vance touted the ban, Democrats took the opportunity to unload on him and the administration.
For instance, California state Sen. Scott Weiner (D) responded, “Actually some of the most significant things you could do to stop antisemitism is to call it out at your public events (which you failed to do), call out groypers & Tucker Carlson (which you failed to do) & condemn Nazi-aligned parties in Germany (instead you tried to elect one).”
Several House "Squad" members chimed in, including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who stated, “The racism is not subtle. Donald Trump and Stephen Miller want to make the United States a white nationalist country. We won't stand for it.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), another "Squad" lawmaker, added, “This administration's racist cruelty knows no limits, expanding their travel ban to include even more African and Muslim-majority countries, even Palestinians fleeing a genocide. Trump and Stephen Miller won't be satisfied until our country has the demographics of a Klan rally.”
In a clear tit-for-tat move, two West African nations announced their own ban. Mali and Burkina Faso have banned Americans from traveling to their countries.
The Malian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "In accordance with the principle of reciprocity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation informs the national and international community that, with immediate effect, the Government of the Republic of Mali will apply the same conditions and requirements to US nationals as those imposed on Malian citizens.” A similar statement was issued by Burkina Faso.
The Trump administration responded, "According to the Department of State, armed conflict between the Malian government and armed groups is common throughout the country. Terrorist organizations operate freely in certain areas of Mali."
We should also note that the countries at issue border Niger and Nigeria, where terrorist organizations have been targeting Christians. Now, I really don’t see these nations as tourist hotspots, but the ban could hurt these countries in terms of restricting the entry of missionaries and aid workers. I am sure the liberals and the media will applaud the reciprocal ban, but it will hurt those nations far more than it will hurt the United States.
