Published 18:41 IST, January 22nd 2020
US would be adding ‘couple of countries’ to travel ban list: Donald Trump
Trump confirmed that Washington would be adding ‘a couple of countries’ to list of controversial travel ban which was imposed days after he assumed the office.
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US President Donald Trump confirmed that Washington would be adding ‘a couple of countries’ to list of controversial travel ban which was imposed days after he assumed the office in 2017. On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Trump also said that he is holding talks on ‘very dramatic’ reforms of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the intergovernmental community he had slammed at the 74th session of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2019.
In 2017, the controversial travel ban on several Muslim-majority nations, including Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, sparked outrage. The decision led to protests across the United States after passengers were detained at the airports. In the past, Trump asserted numerous times about his plan to expand the scope of the travel ban but the names of such countries have not been revealed yet.
As Trump’s re-election campaign nears, it is expected that the Republican leader will push for the past promises of a crackdown on illegal immigrants and check the influx from Muslim-majority countries. Now that the US President has been impeached and facing a trial in Senate for his unlikely removal, experts opined that he will intensify the efforts that won him supporters in 2016.
'Love to attend trial'
Trump said that he would love to attend impeachment trial but his legal team, that has called the impeachment articles ‘constitutionally invalid’, would oppose it. Last week, the legal team, led by the White House counsel Pat Cipollone, filed a six-page response to the summons notifying Trump of the impeachment trial in which it has accused Democrats of “brazen and unlawful attempt” to overturn the results of 2016 presidential elections.
Chief Justice John Roberts will preside the trial and all 100 senators will serve as jurors for the third impeachment trial in US history. At least two-thirds of the Senate, i.e. 67 Senators, have to vote in favour of removal, which seems highly unlikely since it is controlled by Republicans.
(With inputs from agencies)
18:41 IST, January 22nd 2020