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2016 Election

SPEECH EXCERPTS: Select Remarks from Monday Night’s Program at the Democratic National Convention

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PHILADELPHIA, (FNN NEWS) — The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) released a selection of excerpts from the prepared remarks of speakers who will address the Democratic National Convention tonight in Philadelphia. The opening night of the Convention will highlight the clear stakes in this election: a choice between building walls and tearing people down – or a unifying vision, where we lift each other up and work together to build a stronger future for our country.

On Monday night, speakers will discuss the economic challenges facing America’s families and the type of leadership our nation needs to build an economy that works for everyone – not just those at the top.

Excerpts from select speeches from tonight’s program are included below:

CONGRESSWOMAN LINDA SANCHEZ (California)

  • Donald Trump believes that Mexican immigrants are murderers and rapists. But what about my parents Donald? Let me tell you what my parents are. They are the only parents in our nation’s 265-year history to send – not one – but TWO daughters to the United States Congress.”
  • “We know our children aren’t born with hate or racism in their hearts. They learn it from watching the world around them and following the example of the adults in their life. Too many of our children are watching and learning the wrong lessons from Donald Trump….”
  • “We’ve seen it at an Indiana basketball game, where a group of white students started chanting “build that wall” to taunt players from a predominantly Hispanic high school. This is the behavior Donald Trump inspires in our youth.”

MAYOR MARTY WALSH (Boston, Massachusetts)

  • “Good evening. My name is Marty Walsh, and I’m an alcoholic. On April 23 1995, I hit rock bottom. I woke up with little memory of the night before… and even less hope for the days to come. Everybody was losing faith in me. Everybody except my family… and the labor movement.”

PAM LIVENGOOD
[Keene, NH – Pam and her family have been personally affected by the growing substance abuse epidemic and are guardians for their grandson because of their daughter’s struggle with addiction. Pam raised the issue with Hillary while participating at a roundtable during the first trip to New Hampshire.]

  • “For my 50th birthday, I got a two-year old. You see, my daughter and her boyfriend had a beautiful little boy named Francis. But they got caught up in drugs. It started with the pain medication she was given after Francis was born – and it just got worse from there.”
  • “Well last year, Hillary Clinton came to New Hampshire for a roundtable at my workplace. She asked if addiction had touched any of us. And as I told my story, Hillary listened. She even took notes. And then she did something else we don’t see a lot of in Washington – she took action.”

DEMI LOVATO

  • “Like millions of Americans, I am living with mental illness. But I am lucky. I had the resources and support to get treatment at a top facility. Unfortunately, too many Americans from all walks of life don’t get help, whether they fear the stigma or cannot afford treatment.”

KARLA ORTIZ
[Las Vegas, NV – Karla is an American citizen but her parents, including her mother, Francisca, are undocumented and live in fear of deportation. Karla met Hillary Clinton in Nevada and was featured in the campaign ad, Brave.]

  • “I don’t feel brave every day. On most days I’m scared… that at any moment my mom and my dad will be forced to leave. And I wonder…. What if I come home and find it empty? I want my parents to see me do science experiments and find my rare rocks in the desert. I want to grow up to be a lawyer so I can help other families.”
  • Hillary Clinton told me that she would do everything she could to help us. She told me that I didn’t have to do the worrying because she would do the worrying. She wants me to have the worries of an 11 year old, not the weight of the world on my shoulders.”

JARRON COLLINS

  • “How do you tell your kids not to be a bully if their president is one? How do you tell your kids to respect their heritage if their president disparages it? How do you tell your daughters they are empowered if their president reduces women to their physical appearance?”

JASON COLLINS

  • “Before I came out to the world on the cover of Sports illustrated, I came out privately to the Clinton family. I have known their family for almost 20 years. I knew that they would accept me for who I was; and that they would help pave a path for others to do the same. I am forever grateful for their words of wisdom back then and their unconditional support. They know that my sexual orientation made no difference in my ability to play basketball, just as someone’s gender makes no difference in his or HER ability to lead our nation.”

JESSE LIPSON

  • “I taught myself how to build software. When I was 26, I started my company with just $100 for advertising. Today we’re in more than 100 countries – and we’ve created 800 jobs in Raleigh.”
  • “Donald, I’m also a businessman. You build skyscrapers. I build in the cloud. But it’s clear you don’t understand something simple about business: what scares away investment is hate. Disgusting laws like North Carolina’s attack LGBT Americans are costing my state hundreds of millions of dollars. And now it’s cost us the NBA All-Star Game.”

SENATOR BOB CASEY (Pennsylvania)

  • Donald Trump says he stands for workers and they he’ll put America first, but that’s not how he conducted himself in business. Where are his “tremendous” Trump products made? Dress shirts – Bangladesh. Furniture – Turkey. Picture frames – India. Wine glasses- Slovenia. Neck ties – China. Why would Donald Trump make his products in every corner of the globe but not in Altoona, Erie or here in Philadelphia.”
  • “Well, this is what he said: “outsourcing is not always a terrible thing.” Wages in America “are too high”. And then he complained about companies moving jobs overseas because “we don’t make things anymore.” Really?”
  • “You can choose a candidate who’s only out for himself, who wants get rid of the federal minimum wage and who would cut taxes for the richest Americans at the expense of the middle class. Or you can choose Hillary Clinton – a leader with a proven track record of fighting for an economy that works for all of us.”

MAYOR LUKE FEENEY (Chillicothe, Ohio)

  • “The last think Ohioans need is a president who has crushed small businesses by not paying them for the work they did. The last thing Ohio needs is Donald Trump.”
  • “Hillary’s dad was a small business owner. She gets it. Hillary knows America works best when it works for everyone. And she has a plan to make sure that entrepreneurs have all the tools they need to succeed.”

SENATOR KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (New York)

  • “You see, Hillary Clinton’s life’s work has been defined by one question: ‘How we help those who need it most?’ Donald Trump’s has been defined by a very different question: ‘How can I help myself most?'”
  • Donald Trump actually stood on a debate stage and said that wages are “too high”. Hillary knows that in the richest country in the world, it’s unacceptable that a mom with two kids working full-time still lives in poverty.”
  • Donald Trump says that when it comes to paid family leave, “you have to be careful of it.” Hillary knows that it’s long past time for guaranteed paid family leave.”
  • Donald Trump thinks that women should just work harder because – and I’m quoting – “You’re gonna make the same if you do as good a job.” Every woman in America knows that’s not true! Hillary believes that women deserve equal pay for equal work.
  • The choice in this election couldn’t be clearer.”

SENATOR AL FRANKEN (Minnesota)

  • “I’m Al Franken. Minnesota Senator and world renowned expert on right wing megalomaniacs: Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, and now, Donald Trump…”

ANASTASIA SOMOZA
[New York, NY – Anastasia, along with her twin sister, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia when she was born and is an advocate for Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Anastasia interned for Hillary Clinton in her U.S. Senate office and on the 2000 campaign for senate. Anastasia first met President Bill Clinton in 1993 at a town hall meeting for kids.]

  • “I first met Hillary as First Lady on a visit to the White House. I was 9 years old and I listened to her and my mom discuss healthcare and early intervention for children with disabilities. Over the past 23 years, she has continued to serve as a friend and a mentor… Championing my inclusion and access to classrooms, higher education and the workforce.”
  • Donald Trump has shown us who he really is. And I honestly feel sorry for anyone with that much hate in their heart. I know we will show each other, and the world, who we really are in November – when we choose genuine strength and thoughtful leadership – over fear and division. Donald Trump doesn’t see me, he doesn’t hear me, and he definitely doesn’t speak for me.”

EVA LONGORIA

  • “I’m a ninth generation American from a small town in South Texas. And if you know your history, Texas used to be part ofMexico. My family never crossed a border. The border crossed us.”
  • ” When Donald Trump calls us criminals and rapists, he is insulting American families. My father isn’t a criminal or a rapist. In fact, he’s a veteran…”
  • “Hillary’s been fighting for us for decades. Now it’s time to fight for her!”

SENATOR CORY BOOKER (New Jersey)

  • “This is the high call of patriotism. Patriotism is love of country. But you can’t love your country without loving your countrymen and countrywomen. We don’t always have to agree, but we must empower each other, we must find the common ground, we must build bridges across our differences to pursue the common good. We can’t devolve into a nation where our highest aspiration is that we just tolerate each other. We are not called to be a nation of tolerance. We are called to be a nation of love…”
  • “We have a presidential nominee in Hillary Clinton who knows that, in a time of stunningly wide disparities of wealth in our nation, America’s greatness must not be measured by how many millionaires and billionaires we have, but by how few people we have living in poverty.”
  • “Hillary knows when workers make a fair wage, it doesn’t just help their families, it builds a stronger, more durable economy that expands opportunity and makes all Americans wealthier.”
  • “She knows that in a global knowledge-based economy, the country that out-educates the world will out-earn the world, out-innovate the world, and lead the world.”
  • “She knows that debt-free college is not a gift, it’s not a charity, it’s an investment. It represents the best of our values, the best of our history, the best of our party: Bernie’s ideas, Hillary’s ideas, our shared ideas. Our shared values.”
  • Hillary Clinton knows what Donald Trump betrays time and again in this campaign: that we are not a zero sum nation, it is not you or me, it is not one American against another. It is you and I together, interdependent, interconnected with one single interwoven American destiny.”

CHERYL LANKFORD
[San Antonio, TXCheryl Lankford heads up the local chapter of Gold Star Wives. Her husband, Jonathan M. Lankford, a command sergeant major in the Army, died in Baghdad in September 2007. In 2009, Lankford signed up for Trump University to find a way to get back on her feet. She said she spent $35,000 from an Army insurance payment to learn Mr. Trump’s secrets, and has nothing to show for it. She is a big Hillary Clinton supporter and called her a “hero.” Her story was previously reported in theNew York Times. Ms. Lankford developed a business in her husband’s honor, Lankford Land Development, LLC.]

  • “You just saw what happened to me. How Trump University cheated me out of the money I received after my husband’s death. How they broke their promises. How they stopped taking my calls. How the whole thing was a lie…”
  • Donald Trump made big promises about Trump University. And I was fooled into believing him. Now he’s making big promises about America. Please don’t make the same mistake.”

CONGRESSMAN JOSEPH KENNEDY (Massachusetts)

  • “First day of law school. First class. The goal: escape unscathed. Three seconds in, I get the first question:

‘Mr Kennedy, what is the definition of assumpsit?’

Uhhh…’

‘Mr Kennedy, you realize that assumpsit was the first word in your reading?’

‘Yes. I circled it because I didn’t know what it meant.’

‘Mr. Kennedy, do you own a dictionary? That’s what people use when they don’t know a word.’

I never showed up unprepared for Professor Elizabeth Warren again.”

SENATOR ELIZABETH WARREN (Massachusetts)

  • “Trump thinks he can win votes by fanning the flames of fear and hatred. By turning neighbor against neighbor. By persuading you that the real problem in America is your fellow Americans – people who don’t look like you, or don’t talk like you, or don’t worship like you…
  • That’s Donald Trump’s America. An America of fear and hate. An America where we all break apart. Whites against Blacks and Latinos. Christians against Muslims and Jews. Straight against gay. Everyone against immigrants. Race, religion, heritage, gender – the more factions the better.
  • But ask yourself this. When white workers in Ohio are pitted against black workers in North Carolina, or Latino workers inFlorida – who really benefits?
  • Divide and Conquer is an old story in America. Dr. Martin Luther King knew it. After his march from Selma to Montgomery, he spoke of how segregation was created to keep people divided. Instead of higher wages for workers, Dr. King described how poor whites in the South were fed Jim Crow, which told a poor white worker that, quote, “no matter how bad off he was, at least he was a white man, better than the black man.” Racial hatred was part of keeping the powerful on top.

  • When we turn on each other, bankers can run our economy for Wall Street, oil companies can fight off clean energy, and giant corporations can ship the last good jobs overseas.

  • When we turn on each other, we can’t unite to fight back against a rigged system.
  • Well, I’ve got news for Donald Trump. The American people are not falling for it!

About the Democratic National Convention

The 2016 Democratic Convention will be held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia July 25-28, 2016. Working in partnership with the Philadelphia Host Committee, the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, our goal is to make this the most engaging, innovative and forward looking Convention in history. The 2016 Democratic National Convention will leverage technology to take the Convention experience well beyond the hall in an effort to engage more Americans than ever before in the event. With the birthplace of American Democracy as a backdrop, the 2016 convention in Philadelphia will highlight our shared Democratic values and help put the Democratic nominee on a path to victory.

The Democratic Convention is the formal nominating event for the Democratic candidates for President and Vice President. At the Convention, the Democratic Party also adopts the official Democratic Party platform as well as the rules and procedures governing party activities including the nomination process for presidential candidates in the next election cycle.

The CEO for the 2016 Democratic National Convention is Reverend Leah D. Daughtry. The official website of the 2016 Democratic National Convention is www.demconvention.com.

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2016 Election

[OPINION] We Need More Saturday Night Live, Especially This Election Season

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Saturday Night Live has graced American television for almost 50 years, please continue.

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN NEWS) – We need political comedy, not political correctness. SNL is the answer.

Saturday Night Live has been a staple of American comedy for almost 50 years. Founded in 1975, it’s hilarious skits, songs, and other performances have become iconic in entertainment history.

Many a famous actor has gotten his and her start as an SNL cast member, with many celebrities starring as guest performers. Here is a short list of some of the talent that has graced the SNL set:

  • Tina Fey
  • Will Ferrell
  • Eddie Murphy
  • Andy Samberg
  • Jimmy Fallon
  • Bill Murray
  • Adam Sandler
  • Justin Timberlake
  • Steve Carell
  • And so many more!

SNL is notorious for its election season performances, which become viral overnight.

In the 2016 election, several cast members had recurring roles throughout the election. They spent months spoofing debates, press conferences, interviews, and campaign events as their respective characters.

Take Alec Baldwin, whose Trump impression is unmatched. He has appeared in more than a dozen shows portraying the President, and has even won an Emmy for the role.

Kate McKinnon took on the role of Hillary Clinton and knocked it out of the park, also winning an Emmy.

Other characters included Larry David as Bernie Sanders, Beck Bennet as Mike Pence, and Cecily Strong as Melania Trump.

The 2016 election season was glorious, with some of the funniest ever performances. In my opinion, there is nothing more bipartisan than laughing at the faults of political candidates.

Democrats and Republicans alike can laugh at the hilarious goofs, one-liners, and relationships between Trump, Hillary, and all the other candidates and big players.

We all understand that politics and elections are serious business, but sometimes we all need to step back and take it all a little less seriously.

In our time of political correctness, the acceptable limits of comedy are shrinking drastically, which is unfortunate. Any joke that has anything to do with race, ethnicity, gender, age, weight, or religion is strictly prohibited.

Of course, no one wants to be attacked or discriminated against, but we’ve lost the ability to laugh at ourselves and to take a joke.

It’s one of the large divides between generations, with young people being offended at older jokes while not understanding the different mentality behind them.

Maintaining the freedom to joke about our political candidates is essential to keeping us light-hearted and united. It’s so easy for both parties to dig in their heels and attack each other ruthlessly, but if we can stop and just relax for a minute, we’ll see how much we have in common.

All I’m saying is that I give SNL and any other comedy group permission to go full steam in the coming election. With everything happening in 2020, we could use a good laugh!

Here are a few of my favorite 2016 SNL Election videos:

________________________________

Marcos Barrios is a Florida National News contributing writer. The avid writer and musician is passionate about politics and entertainment in Florida and abroad.

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2016 Election

[OPINION] POLITICS AT ITS WORST… It’s not just a DC thing!

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Randy Ross and his mother Betty. Photo credit: Randy Ross

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN NEWS) – Recently I reported on social media a verbal assault my mother and I experienced while leaving local downtown eatery. A total stranger screaming his hate of President Trump in my direction while I pushed my mom in a wheelchair from the restaurant. While unpleasant, I chalked it up to my being as close as many can get to express their dislike of our President.

On Saturday, while returning home from an assignment here in Orlando the hate reared its head again. While traveling on I-4 I received a call from a number I didn’t recognize. Traditionally I would not answer such a call, but the nature of the project I was working on warranted answering the call to ensure it wasn’t work related.

Me: “Hello.”

Voice on the other end: “This is [not disclosing] from the Florida Department of Children and Families. I’m sitting here with your mother Betty. We are investigating a complaint of elder abuse in your home.”

Me: “I’m sorry. Is this some type of joke? Who are you?”

The gentleman on the other end reconfirmed. At this point I’m sure I begin breaking the speed limit to get home. I mean, I have cared for my mother for nearly 30 years. He continued, “There was an accusation that you had thrown your mother down a flight of stairs.” I immediately said, “Ok, I’m 10 minutes from home. However, I need you to step outside the home until I get there.” He agreed.

I had no idea what truly was going on and what to expect when I arrived. He could have been anyone holding her hostage or something.

In the interim, I immediately called my friend and Attorney Roger Scott and explained the situation. He confirmed I had the right to ask him to leave the home and didn’t even have to allow him to come back in. However, I expressed to Roger that when I got to the house I was going to speak with the representative and would determine from his demeanor whether to allow him back in. After arriving home and a few minutes of speaking with the representative I quickly realized he too felt the anonymous allegation was false. I then contacted my attorney and had him listen to the conversation, via speaker phone, between the representative, my mother, and me.

Now keep in mind, Roger is not a Trump supporter. We both are very clear in our politics. However, he also knows when something smells rotten. Roger further clarified that he’s heard the same allegation before on social media and that, if true, my mother and her medical advisors ad physicians would have stepped in long ago. Scott said, “I have personally been in the Ross home and witnessed the love and care he gives his mother. This is clearly politically motivated.”

After wrapping up the call with my attorney, the representative shared he would be talking to my neighbors, Mom’s doctors, and my sister in Indiana. He stated, “I feel this is something that will be wrapped up quickly. If so, I’ll call you in a few days and alert you to my decision.”

Yesterday, Tuesday, October 9th, that call came. “Mr. Ross, I wanted to let you know I’m closing the case and that we saw no proof of your mom being thrown down the stairs or elder abuse after speaking with neighbors, your mother’s doctors and your family.” I simply said, “Thank you,” and hung up. That’s when the reality of the situation hit me… I realized whomever had made this accusation had been successful in one thing…humiliating me and my family. It could have stopped there. But that’s not how I roll. I wanted to speak up and out for all Americans that happen to have a voice and support our President.

Here’s the reality. Since I accepted the role of Orange County Chairman for Trump in 2015 I have faced enormous pushback from former friends and the community of people who don’t like our President. It was seemingly impossible for them to believe you can be a gay conservative, let alone one that supports President Trump.

Trust, I’ve heard it all. False allegations that I drugged and raped multiple people. I’ve received more death threats and threats of violence towards me than I care to mention. One threat in particular suggested, “I hope to wipe the blood of your crippled mother on the streets of downtown Orlando.” See a pattern? I’ve heard pretty much anything and everything horrible that could be said, all categorically false. But I don’t think I ever expected someone would go so far as to make such a false allegation regarding my mother. One that had a different representative with a different agenda showed up at my home could have gone strikingly different. In fact, as the representative mentioned, “We could have your mother removed from your home.” My mom, who is 76 years old, 85 lbs soaking wet, frail, with severe rheumatoid arthritis, never had anything more dramatic in her life but a speeding ticket, could have been taken from my home, via a false allegation… and all because I support President Donald J Trump? Is this really the state of politics in America? Then again, I know my mother… she would not have gone quietly. And I’m pretty sure my sister and brother in law would have taken the next jet from Indianapolis to get here and straighten them out. Quickly.

I decided to utilize the various platforms of influence I have to bring awareness that I, like basically anyone with high profile support of our President, am a target. But let me be perfectly clear: I am not a snowflake. The silent majority is simply tired of being silent.

No, I’m not President Trump and I certainly can’t imagine the attacks Justice Kavanaugh must have endured, however, I’m realizing how pathetic those that disagree with my politics have become. You can’t even eat dinner without some nut job trying to interfere under the direction of “Chief Derangement Officer” Maxine Waters. But this?

I, and my entire family for that matter, support President Trump unapologetically and will continue to no matter the barbs and attacks sent our way. Imagine if some of that hate and negative posturing was utilized to actually make the change you seek? I guess that would require too much real work.

I’m not sure what will be the next attempt the left, or possibly those in my own party, will throw in my direction because of my successful support for our President. But one thing’s for sure: You’re messing with the wrong American. Elder abuse is a very, very serious issue. The idea that anyone would ignore the needs of a senior is unimaginable to me. However, using the fact that I care for a senior, who happens to be my mother, as a tool for political gain? Well, there’s a special place in hell for people like that!

_________________________________________

Randy Ross is a political contributor for Florida National News.

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2016 Election

Trump travel ban partly reinstated; fall court arguments set

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is allowing the Trump administration to go forward with a limited version of its ban on travel from six mostly Muslim countries, a victory for President Donald Trump in the biggest legal controversy of his young presidency.

The justices will hear full arguments in October in the case that has stirred heated emotions across the nation. In the meantime, the court said Monday that Trump’s ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen can be enforced if those visitors lack a “credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”

Trump said last week that the ban would take effect 72 hours after being cleared by courts.

The administration has said the 90-day ban was needed on national security grounds to allow an internal review of screening procedures for visa applicants from the six countries. Opponents say the ban is unlawful, based on visitors’ Muslim religion. The administration review should be complete before Oct. 2, the first day the justices could hear arguments in their new term.

A 120-day ban on refugees also is being allowed to take effect on a limited basis.

Three of the court’s conservative justices said they would have let the complete bans take effect.

Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, said the government has shown it is likely to succeed on the merits of the case, and that it will suffer irreparable harm with any interference. Thomas said the government’s interest in preserving national security outweighs any hardship to people denied entry into the country.

Some immigration lawyers said the limited nature of the ban and the silence of the court’s liberals on the issue Monday suggested that the court had not handed Trump much of a victory. They said relatively few people would fall under the ban because people coming to study, work or visit family members in the United States already have sufficient relationships with others already is in the country.

Trump, though, hailed the high court’s order as a “clear victory for our national security.” He said in a statement that his “number one responsibility” is to keep the American people safe.

The court’s opinion explained the kinds of relationships people from the six countries must demonstrate to obtain a U.S. visa.

“For individuals, a close familial relationship is required,” the court said. For people who want to come to the United States to work or study, “the relationship must be formal, documented and formed in the ordinary course, not for the purpose of evading” the travel ban.

The opinion faulted the two federal appeals courts that had blocked the travel policy for going too far to limit Trump’s authority over immigration. The president announced the travel ban a week after he took office in January and revised it in March after setbacks in court.

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, said the ban was “rooted in religious animus” toward Muslims and pointed to Trump’s campaign promise to impose a ban on Muslims entering the country as well as tweets and remarks he has made since becoming president.

The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the travel policy does not comply with federal immigration law, including a prohibition on nationality-based discrimination. That court also put a hold on separate aspects of the policy that would keep all refugees out of the United States for 120 days and cut by more than half, from 110,000 to 50,000, the cap on refugees in the current government spending year that ends September 30.

Trump’s first executive order on travel applied to travelers from Iraq and well as the six countries, and took effect immediately, causing chaos and panic at airports over the last weekend in January as the Homeland Security Department scrambled to figure out whom the order covered and how it was to be implemented.

A federal judge blocked it eight days later, an order that was upheld by a 9th circuit panel. Rather than pursue an appeal, the administration said it would revise the policy.

In March, Trump issued the narrower order.

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