Trump says Democrats are like 'Venezuela on steroids' for trying to overturn his travel ban

Democrats celebrate the passage of the No Ban Act, saying it puts them on the 'right side of history'

Donald Trump attacked Democrats on Capitol Hill after they passed the No Ban Act, which would repeal his travel ban towards several Muslim-majority countries, claiming the party has gone "Stone Cold Left - Venezuela on steroids!"

"The Democrats in the House are trying to undo my big win Travel Ban Bill," the president wrote in a tweet on Saturday morning, "which successfully keeps very bad and dangerous people out of our great Country."

"Passed along party lines," he said. "Hopefully, will be DEAD in the Senate! The Dems have gone Stone Cold Left - Venezuela on steroids!"

The No Ban Act, which was not expected to receive a vote in the Republican-led Senate, mainly served as a repudiation of the president’s efforts to impose travel restrictions on Muslim majority countries — a campaign promise he made in 2016, long before the coronavirus pandemic.

Still, lawmakers said the measure, which passed mainly along party lines, would put the Democratic-led House of Representatives on the “right side of history” after they said the White House created the ban out of religious discrimination.

Congresswoman Judy Chu (D—CA), who sponsored the No Ban Act, said in a statement after the passing of the bill: “Today, almost three and a half years to the day after President Trump issued his first Muslim Ban, the House of Representatives voted to put us on the right side of history by repealing it completely.”

She added: “This ban never had anything to do with national security; it was always driven by prejudice.”

Republicans who defended the president’s travel restrictions slammed the No Ban Act, including Andy Biggs of Arizona, who said: “This is not a Muslim ban. This is a legitimate travel restriction implemented for the safety of this nation.”

Mr Trump’s decision to implement travel restrictions on several Muslim majority nations faced both legal challenges and major blowback from US society, with massive protests staged at airports across the country during the president’s first year in office.

The administration’s current travel restrictions applied to Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Venezuela and North Korea were later added to the list. Iraq was removed from an initial group of countries to be included in the executive order.

The latest restrictions also suspend visas from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria and Myanmar.