After minimizing the crisis for weeks, against all scientific evidence, Donald Trump took the risk of adding chaos to the crisis by announcing the suspension of all travel from continental Europe to the United States for 30 days. Before being partially contradicted by his own administration.
In a rare speech from the Oval Office, the President announced a series of measures, the most dramatic of which was the announcement of the suspension of all flights from Europe starting on Friday. Without explaining the reason, he said that the United Kingdom was not affected by this ban, while the number of cases reported (about 400) is the same as in several countries concerned, Sweden or the Netherlands by example.
But in the aftermath of the presidential statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) "clarified" the words of Donald Trump, partially contradicting them. In reality, the travel ban does not apply to citizens and permanent residents. On the DHS website, a "press release" specifies that the entry of the United States will be prohibited from Friday to all foreigners who have traveled in the 14 days preceding their arrival in the United States in one of the countries of the Shengen area: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Besides American citizens, an exception is also made for legal permanent residents and “most immediate family members of American citizens ”.
In his speech, Donald Trump also announced that the restrictions would also apply to goods from Europe … before saying exactly the opposite in a tweet an hour later: “Restrictions stop people, not property”.
Hoping to get the payroll tax cut approved by both Republicans and Democrats, and please remember, very important for all countries & businesses to know that trade will in no way be affected by the 30-day restriction on travel from Europe. The restriction stops people not goods.
– Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 12, 2020
