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Trump criticizes Democrats after reports visa program admitted alleged attacker Trump's politicised reaction to New York attack a far cry from Las Vegas shooting
(about 4 hours later)
Donald Trump took aim at Democrats and an immigration lottery program in the wake of the New York terrorist attack on Wednesday morning – prompting accusations he was immediately politicising the tragedy. One prompted a sombre tone, quotation from scripture and prayer for unity. The other brought a barrage of tweets, peppered with capital letters and exclamation marks and bent on divisiveness and blame.
“The terrorist came into our country through what is called the ‘Diversity Visa Lottery Program,’ a Chuck Schumer beauty,” the US president posted at 7.24am ET, referring to the Democratic Senate minority leader, a fellow New Yorker. “I want merit based.” Donald Trump had sharply contrasting responses to the mass shooting in Las Vegas and the terrorist attack in New York that bookended the month of October.
Trump was apparently responding to unconfirmed media reports that Sayfullo Saipov, the alleged attacker, had entered the US from Uzbekistan under a programme called the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. The morning after Stephen Paddock fired hundreds of rifle rounds from his suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas, killing 58 people at a country music concert, Trump was at his most presidential, stating from the diplomatic room at the White House: “In moments of tragedy and horror, America comes together as one – and it always has.”
Also known as the green card lottery, the state department programme grants 50,000 visas each year to people from parts of the world with relatively low immigration rates over the previous five years. Schumer was one of the architects of the plan in 1990 and it took effect in 1995. But when it came to solutions, the president offered little more than looking at gun control laws “as time goes by”.
Eight people were killed and 11 wounded when motorist Sayfullo Saipov, 29, originally from Uzbekistan, ploughed a pickup truck down a crowded bike path along the Hudson river in Manhattan on Tuesday, before being shot by a police officer. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in New York since 11 September 2001.
Trump rattled off several tweets in the immediate aftermath and, on Wednesday, went highly personal and political, raising the prospect of sending the suspect to Guantánamo Bay, taking aim at the Democratic Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, and an immigration lottery programme he helped design.
“The terrorist came into our country through what is called the ‘Diversity Visa Lottery Program,’ a Chuck Schumer beauty,” the US president posted at 7.24am ET. “I want merit based.”
Trump was apparently responding to the fact, confirmed by the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday, that Sayfullo Saipov, the alleged attacker, had entered the US from Uzbekistan under the diversity immigrant visa programme.
Also known as the green card lottery, the state department programme grants 50,000 visas each year to people from parts of the world with relatively low immigration rates over the previous five years. Schumer was one of the architects of the plan in 1990, although he later backed moves to scrap it.
Trump followed up with a reference to the Fox News show Fox and Friends, which he is known to watch regularly and has a reputation for amplifying his views: “We are fighting hard for Merit Based immigration, no more Democrat Lottery Systems. We must get MUCH tougher (and smarter). @foxandfriends”.Trump followed up with a reference to the Fox News show Fox and Friends, which he is known to watch regularly and has a reputation for amplifying his views: “We are fighting hard for Merit Based immigration, no more Democrat Lottery Systems. We must get MUCH tougher (and smarter). @foxandfriends”.
And in a third tweet he had another dig at Schumer: “’Senator Chuck Schumer helping to import Europes [sic] problems’ said Col.Tony Shaffer. We will stop this craziness! @foxandfriends”. And in a third tweet he had another dig at Schumer: “‘Senator Chuck Schumer helping to import Europes [sic] problems’ said Col.Tony Shaffer. We will stop this craziness! @foxandfriends”.
Schumer, an old verbal sparring partner of Trump who has lately attempted to make policy deals with the president, issued a statement in response. “I have always believed and continue to believe that immigration is good for America,” he said. “President Trump, instead of politicising and dividing America, which he always seems to do at times of national tragedy, should be focusing on the real solution – anti-terrorism funding – which he proposed cutting in his most recent budget.” Trump was condemned for seeking to score political points off the tragedy. Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York state, told reporters: “The president’s tweets, I think, were not helpful. I don’t think they were factual. I think they tended to point fingers and politicise the situation.
He added: “I’m calling on the president to immediately rescind his proposed cuts to this vital anti-terrorism funding.” “It was referring back to an immigration policy that dealt with a lottery and blaming people who passed that immigration policy. His tweet wasn’t even accurate as far as I’m concerned: that was a bipartisan law that was passed that had basically no relevance to this situation.”
Schumer has previously criticised Trump’s 2018 budget for proposing cuts worth more than $300m to grant programmes run by the Department of Homeland Security aimed at terrorism and violent extremism preparedness and prevention. Cuomo added: “You play into the hands of the terrorist to the extent you disrupt and divide and frighten people in this society and the tone now should be the exact opposite by all officials on all levels. This is about unification, this is about solidarity, this is about normalisation, this is about protection, and the last thing it’s about is politics, period.”
Eight people were killed and 11 wounded when a motorist – identified by police as Sayfullo Saipov, 29, from Uzbekistan – ploughed a pickup truck down a crowded bike path along the Hudson River in Manhattan on Tuesday, before being shot by a police officer. It was the deadliest terrorist attack on New York since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. His tone was echoed by New York’s mayor, Bill de Blasio, who told the same press conference: “I don’t think anybody should be politicising this tragedy at this moment in time. This should be a unity moment where the focus is on solving the crime and figuring out how we can move forward together, not pointing fingers.”
The Diversity Visa Lottery has been a frequent target of rightwing politicians and commentators. Sebastian Gorka, a former White House aide, tweeted about the suspect on Tuesday: “He ‘won’ his visa under the Diversity Lottery program introduced by none other than @SenSchumer.” The green card lottery has been a frequent target of rightwing politicians and commentators. Many are now rounding on Schumer. Sebastian Gorka, a former White House aide, tweeted about the suspect on Tuesday: “He ‘won’ his visa under the Diversity Lottery program introduced by none other than @SenSchumer.”
Trump supports legislation to scrap and replace it with a “merit-based” immigration system. He has previously used the threat of terrorism to justify his travel ban on several Muslim majority countries and his plan to build a wall on the Mexican border. But in 2013, Schumer was among the so-called “Gang of Eight” senators whose plan to overhaul immigration laws included the elimination of the diversity lottery. Another of the eight, the Republican senator Jeff Flake, tweeted on Wednesday: “Actually, the Gang of 8, including @SenSchumer, did away with the Diversity Visa Program as part of broader reforms. I know, I was there.” The bill passed in the Senate but not in the House.
Officials have said the attacker is an immigrant from Uzbekistan who came to the US legally in 2010 but they have not announced whether he came in through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program. Trump supports legislation to scrap the lottery and replace it with a “merit-based” immigration system. He has previously used the threat of terrorism to justify his travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries and his plan to build a wall on the Mexican border.
Schumer, an old verbal sparring partner of Trump who has lately attempted to make policy deals with the president, issued a statement in response to the criticism. “President Trump, instead of politicising and dividing America, which he always seems to do at times of national tragedy, should be focusing on the real solution – anti-terrorism funding – which he proposed cutting in his most recent budget,” he said.
Trump’s proposed budget recommended funding of $448m for the Urban Area Security Initiative, which helps cities including New York to prevent, mitigate, respond to and recover from acts of terrorism, a cut of more than 25% from its current $605m. The president is also seeking to eliminate anti-terrorism funding for the non-profit security grant programme, which typically provides anti-terrorism funds to schools, museums, stadiums, religious and community centres. A budget recently passed by the House and Senate is silent on the issue.