Former Secretaries Of State Condi Rice And Madeleine Albright Denounce Trump’s ‘Ill-Advised’ Ban

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Donald Trump’s immigration ban has not earned the approval of many, including Former Secretaries of State Condoleezza Rice and Madeleine Albright. The two made their first public comments and criticized the president’s controversial executive order on Wednesday at the Watermark Conference for Women.

Both Rice and Albright have had their fair share of foreign policy experience during their time at the White House and delivered a bipartisan weigh-in on the subject. During the Watermark Conference for Women, Rice recognized the U.S. should protect its borders but carefully choose the means:

“We do have reasons to control our borders. We do have reasons to vet people … to make ourselves safer. Americans are not held together by race, ethnicity, nationality or religion. What holds people together is an aspiration. That’s why we are particularly vulnerable as a country. We are not a nationality. We are an idea.”

Albright agreed with Rice’s assertion that Trump made a rash decision. She also called Trump’s move a “gift” to the Islamic state. “They are now using it as a propaganda,” she said. “We are having, even more, problems with countries that are on the designated terror list.”

She went on to criticize Trump’s online activity while hinting that it could cost an alliance with Mexico. And Albright didn’t stop at Trump, as she criticized National Security Advisir Michael Flynn for his quickness to put Iran “on notice.” Albright then turned to Rice, saying couldn’t imagine her doing that:

“I can’t imagine you, Condi, storming into the briefing room and saying, ‘I’m putting Iran on notice.’ Patriotism is a very important concept, Nationalism is a very dangerous concept — and hyper-nationalism is very scary.”

Those are biting words, albeit ones from those who have been in the thick of it. Trump may be crafting a Twitter rebuttal in response.

(Via Politico)

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