Hypocrisy: Trump exempts ban on Arab countries where he has businesses

WASHINGTON: Several Muslim majority nations where the Trump Organisation is active and which in some cases have faced troublesome issues with terrorism, do not figure in the list of the countries whose citizens were banned from entering the US.

Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Yemen which are targeted by US President Donald Trump in his executive order on Friday are the nations where he does not have any business interests, a report in the Washington Post said.

The “extreme vetting” bars all entry by travellers from these countries for the next 90 days.

The White House has avoided angering some more powerful and wealthy Muslim majority allies such as Egypt where Trump has business dealings, according to Bloomberg.

The Muslim-majority countries where Trump has business interests—Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, UAE and Azerbaijan—rendered in yellow.

 

According to the Washington Post, Trump has retained ownership of the company, meaning if it thrives during his presidency, he will profit.

The President’s order makes no mention of Turkey, which has faced several terrorist attacks in recent months.

Trump has licensed his name to two luxury towers in Istanbul. A Turkish company also manufactures a line of Trump-branded home furnishings.

“I have a little conflict of interest ’cause I have a major, major building in Istanbul,” he said in December 2015.

Also untouched by Friday’s executive order is the UAE, a powerful Muslim ally with whom the US has complicated relations.

Trump has licensed his name to a Dubai golf resort as well as a luxury home development and spa.

Saudi Arabia is not hit by new travel restrictions.

Indonesia, the world’s largest majority-Muslim nation is also excluded from the list. Two large Trump-branded resorts underway, built in partnership with powerful local interests, reports Washington Post.

The new President is facing questions whether he designed the new rules with his own business in mind.

Last week, Norm Eisen, the group’s chairman and a former ethics adviser to former President Barack Obama, tweeted:

“WARNING: Mr. Pres. your Muslim ban excludes countries where you have business interests. That is a ­CONSTITUTIONAL VIOLATION. See u in court.”

With agencies input