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Secretary of Homeland Security found out about President Trump's Muslim travel ban by watching TV

He was getting his first briefing on the executive order when he discovered it was already being signed

Christopher Hooton
Monday 30 January 2017 12:17 GMT
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Trump nominated Kelly to become head the Department of Homeland Security, a cabinet-level position
Trump nominated Kelly to become head the Department of Homeland Security, a cabinet-level position

Donald Trump acted so swiftly on closing US borders to refugees and people from seven Muslim-majority countries that his new Secretary of Homeland Security, John F. Kelly, found out about it from broadcast news.

Flying back to Washington from Miami, Kelly was given his first briefing on Trump’s plan, which would ultimately lead to pandemonium and protests at US airports.

The New York Times reports:

'Halfway into the briefing, someone on the call looked up at a television in his office. “The president is signing the executive order that we’re discussing,” the official said, stunned.'

Trump’s administration has thus far not only been playing out on TV but directly informing it.

Last week, we found out that the president is still finding time to watch television in the White House when he gets bored and that many of his tweets appear to be ripped straight from Fox News.

While thousands of Americans protested President Trump’s blacklist against seven majority Muslim countries for a second day on Sunday, and hundreds of travelers were detained for attempting to legally enter the country, Trump sat down to watch Finding Dory with staff and family members.

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