Counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway is facing widespread criticism after she attempted to justify President Trump’s executive order banning people from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S. by inventing a terrorist attack that never happened. This is Conway speaking to MSNBC’s Chris Matthews.
Kellyanne Conway: “I bet it’s brand-new information to people that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized, and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre. Most people don’t know that, because it didn’t get covered.”
The Washington Post reports there was no terrorist attack carried out in Bowling Green, Kentucky, by Iraqis or anyone else. There were two Iraqi men living in Bowling Green who were arrested in 2011 on charges of having attempted to send money and weapons to al-Qaeda in Iraq. The Washington Post also reports the Obama administration never imposed a ban on Iraqi resettlement, contrary to Conway’s claims. The Obama administration did implement a more extensive screening procedure for Iraqi refugees after the 2011 arrests.