'Prejudice and bigotry': Trump travel ban slammed as a 'political move' to instill 'fear'

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as he welcomes the Florida Gators, the 2025 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Champions, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 21, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

President Donald Trump issued a proclamation Wednesday banning the entry of foreign nationals from 12 countries citing national security concerns.

The countries on the travel ban list include Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.

This move, effective June 9, 2025, mirrors aspects of his 2017 travel ban.

Partial restrictions were imposed on travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

The administration emphasized that the restrictions apply to both immigrants and nonimmigrants, signaling a comprehensive approach to limiting entry from the specified nations.

The decision is facing criticism from Democrats as well as progressive commentators.

Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) wrote on the social platform X: "From his first Muslim Ban, Trump’s travel bans have always betrayed of the ideals and values that inspired America’s Founders. Trump’s use of prejudice and bigotry to bar people from entering the U.S. does not make us safer, it just divides us and weakens our global leadership."

Progressive influencer Aaron Rupar wrote in an X post: "Worth remembering that when Trump announced a travel ban in 2017, people literally went to airports to protest. Eight years later, Trump announces a new one and it's not even front page news. We're the frogs and the water is getting awfully hot."

Cato Institute analyst Alex Nowrasteh wrote: "Trump is banning travel/immigration from Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Rep. of Congo, Eq. Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, & Yemen. More extensive that 1st term ban. Terrorists from the banned countries killed 1 person in an attack on US soil since 1975."

Journalist John Huson noted in a post: "Trump's remarks invoking the Boulder attack to justify the travel ban is coming under criticism from AfghanEvac, a non-profit that helps resettle Afghan allies that served alongside U.S. forces: 'Let’s be clear: this policy is not a response to any new threat. It’s a long-planned political move, delayed until the aftermath of the Boulder attack to give it the appearance of urgency. This is about optics and fear, not safety.'"

"Nothing distracts the media from Musk turning on Trump’s bill and MAGA cracking at the seams and all his court losses and being humiliated globally by having no clue about the Ukrainian drone strike on Russian bombers and being an unmitigated dumpsterfire like a new travel ban," wrote a user on X.