President Donald Trump managed to shoehorn one of his top political objectives into the government’s efforts to combat COVID-19 late Monday night, announcing that he would be issuing a ban on immigration as a response to the outbreak.
“In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!” he tweeted.
There is no evidence that immigrants are a cause of the outbreak in the U.S.
Amid overwhelming criticism of his administration’s bungled response to the pandemic, Trump has been desperate to improve his political standing as November approaches. He’s repeatedly pushed for a reopening of the sinking economy despite health officials saying it is too early to do so, and he has applauded the right-wingers protesting their states’ stay at home orders.
