Road trip? Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded on Twitter to U.S. President Donald Trump‘s controversial refugee and Muslim ban.
“To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada,” Trudeau, 45, wrote on Saturday, January 28, a day after Trump, 70, signed an executive order that indefinitely suspended admissions for Syrian refugees and blocked citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. for at least the next 90 days.
The Canadian politician’s tweet quickly spread online, garnering more than 60,000 retweets in the first hour the message was posted. Many Twitter users applauded Trudeau for his post. “Thank you sir. Most of my fellow Americans agree with you,” one person wrote. “Please keep setting an example. #WeLoveCanada.”
To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017
#WelcomeToCanada pic.twitter.com/47edRsHLJ5
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017
Trump, however, did not acknowledge the countless Americans outraged by his order, specifically those protesting outside New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, where two Iraqis were detained on Friday, January 27, due to the Muslim ban. Instead, the real estate mogul again tweeted attacks on The New York Times and the Washington Post, calling the newspapers’ political coverage “so false and angry.” He also spoke to Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the phone on Saturday.
In response to the travel ban, Iran announced early Saturday that it will ban all U.S. citizens from entering the country, calling Trump’s executive order “an obvious insult to the Islamic world and in particular to the great nation of Iran.” Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, meanwhile, has been barred from attending the 2017 Academy Awards, where his drama The Salesman is nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, due to the Muslim ban. Several celebrities have also taken to social media to denounce Trump’s Muslim ban.
