Trump Defends Travel Ban At Military Lunch, Tweets That Any Negative Polls Are 'Fake News'
TAMPA (CBSNewYork/AP) -- President Donald Trump again defended his travel ban at an address to military leaders in Florida Monday, and also dismissed any negative polling data as "fake news.''
As CBS2's Dick Brennan reported, Trump addressed Central Command in Tampa Monday, and insisted his immigration order is necessary to keep the nation safe. His remarks came as the battle over the ban continues in court.
A full court of appeals will rule this week, after a judge put the policy on hold.
Trump's lunch with the troops, first included small talk about the Super Bowl.
"How did you like the game last night? Tom Brady cemented his place right?" Trump said. "He did a great job."
But Trump then got down to serious business when he addressed his temporary travel ban.
"We need strong programs, so that people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in, not people that want to destroy us and destroy our country," Trump said.
Lawyers for two states on Monday told a federal appellate court that restoring the president's ban on refugees and travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries would "unleash chaos again.''
Hundreds of pages of legal briefs were filed with the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that will rule on the executive order on immigration.
In briefs filed early Monday morning, Washington state and Minnesota said Trump's travel ban harmed residents, businesses and universities and was unconstitutional.
A separate brief against the order was also filed by 97 American businesses, including Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft.
The appellate court this weekend denied the Trump administration's request to immediately set aside a Seattle judge's ruling that put a hold on the ban nationwide but sought briefs from both Washington state and the federal government.
The Department of Justice filed papers lat Monday arguing that the ban should be re-instated.
"I truly do believe as we go forward we'll see the legal foundation of that affirmed by our highest courts," said Vice President Mike Pence.
A CBS News poll Friday found a majority, 51 percent, disapprove of the ban while 45 percent approve it.
In the meantime, the fight over Trump's cabinet will be going all night long. Democrats will be talking on the Senate floor for 24 hours in hopes of stopping the confirmation of Education Secretary nominee Betsy DeVos.
"Above all, and on basic competence, Ms. DeVos has failed to make the grade," said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-New York).
The vote on Devos wll come on Tuesday.
Earlier Monday, Trump took issue with polls on Twitter: "I call my own shots, largely based on an accumulation of data, and everyone knows it. Some FAKE NEWS media, in order to marginalize, lies!''
In another tweet, he said, "Any negative polls are fake news, just like the CNN, ABC, NBC polls in the election. Sorry, people want border security and extreme vetting."
It's unclear what prompted Trump's early morning tweets on Monday.
Trump further said Monday that what he calls the dishonest media is not reporting terror attacks, saying they "don't want to report it."
He said, "They have their reasons," and offered no explanation for the comment.
(TM and © Copyright 2017 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
