Angus King: Trump travel ban ‘worst foreign policy decision’ since Iraq war

Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) on Tuesday blasted President Trump’s executive order banning refugees from entering the U.S., saying it makes the country more dangerous, not less.

“This is probably the worst foreign policy decision since the invasion of Iraq. What it’s done is played right into ISIS’s hands,” King said on CNN’s “New Day.”

King said he’s spent a great deal of his time on matters of foreign policy and terrorism.

{mosads}”They want us to turn this into a war of the west against Islam. They have explicitly said they want to drive a wedge between peaceful, nonviolent Muslims and the West, particularly America,” he said.

“We just played right into their hands. Over the weekend, there were all kinds of excited communications from [the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria] about what a great thing Donald Trump had done for them.”

King added that America has troops in Iraq fighting alongside Muslim troops.

“And what does it do to that situation? What kind of danger does it raise?” he said.

“There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world and we don’t want a war with all of them. We don’t need a war with all of them. We’re not opposed to all of them.”

A lot of intelligence the country gets about terrorism also comes from Muslims, he said.

Trump’s executive order, signed Friday, has spurred protests across the country, with both Republican and Democratic lawmakers raising concerns.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sunday the president’s order may fuel ISIS propaganda.