I've noticed where the disconnect is with conservatives and progressives on trumps statements about banning Muslims. The issue is the context.
Conservatives see Trumps statements on banning Muslim in the context he made them. Trump saw the immigration issue as a national security issue. We need to keep Jihadists from entering the country to protect ourselves. His first instinct was to ban Muslims to keep jihadists out and was foolish enough to say it because of his political inexperience. He was quickly told he couldn't do that and revised his position. Why?
Because his intent was never banning Muslims. His intent was national security. Banning Muslims was his mean to those ends until he realized he couldn't do that. Then he focused on more tailored approach.
Progressives on the other hand think his intention is to ban Muslims. Presumably because he is a hatefilled islamophobe who wants to oppress minorities or some nonsense like that. They are completely losing the obvious national security issue with jihadists.
To conservatives his foolish statements were a means to an end: national security. Why? Because that's the context the statements were made. To progressives his statements were the ends and he is going to implement them by any means.
But trump never cared about banning Muslims in and of itself. Here are five reasons at prove that:
1) the context he made his statements were always wit national security in mind.
2) his executive order does not attempt to ban Muslims or any other group based on religion. it does not even attempt to apply to all muslims
3) it applies to all people in the affected countries regardless to religious iviewpoints
4) removing Iraq from the list when they complied with what the administration requested shows they never cared about banning Muslims.
5) the order has always been temporary, which makes no sense if the purpose was secretly to ban Muslims.
You can't get around Trump's own words:
Trump:
"Donald J. Trump is calling for a complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on."
Former New York mayor Rudy W. Giuliani said President Trump wanted a “Muslim ban” and requested he assemble a commission to show him “the right way to do it legally.”
In the first Muslim ban
The order also says that the administration should "prioritize refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution,
provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual's country of nationality"
