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Donald Trump blames airport chaos caused by 'Muslim ban' on Delta computers and 'liberal tears'

The President claimed 'all is going well with very few problems' as the UN condemned the ban and protests swept the country

Andrew Griffin
Monday 30 January 2017 13:29 GMT
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Donald Trump has blamed a Delta computer outage and "the tears of Senator Schumer" for problems at airports after a ban on Muslims travelling to the US went into place.

Claiming that only a few people were hit by the issues, and that "all is going well with very few problems", the new President appeared to dismiss the huge protests that had greeted the signing of the Executive Order.

"Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage, protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer. Secretary Kelly said that all is going well with very few problems. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!" he wrote in a series of tweets.

"There is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter our country," a follow-up message read. "This was a big part of my campaign. Study the world!"

The "big problems at airports" appears to be a reference to the disruption caused in the wake of the ban, as people were unexpectedly detained and lawyers worked to help have them freed. Those were then followed by huge protests, which saw thousands of people assemble at airports including JFK in New York, where taxis and other public transport were shut down by protests.

Mr Trump's reference to the "tears of" Chuck Schumer is apparently a reference to the US Senator's campaign to fight against Mr Trump's travel ban. The Senate minority leader has denounced the order and has vowed to support protestors against it.

He had tweeted on Friday night that "tears are running down the cheeks of the Statue of Liberty" because of the ban.

Delta Airlines' computer systems were hit by an outage on Saturday night that led to delays and the cancellation of at least 150 flights.

Donald Trump's travel ban – which bans anyone from a list of seven countries, as well as anyone who is a dual national – has been opposed by major organisations including the United Nations. Organisations including Doctors Without Borders have argued that it will put lives in danger, and experts have said that the ban will actually make the US less safe.

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