Trump says refugee plan would prioritize Christians - CBS News

President Trump gave some detail about his refugee plan Friday, telling a Christian television network that he would prioritize the processing of Christian refugee applications into the United States.

When Mr. Trump was asked by CBN News if he saw persecuted Christians overseas “as a kind of priority here,” the president responded in the affirmative.

“Yes,” he said. “They’ve been horribly treated. Do you know if you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, at least very tough to get into the United States?”

“Everybody was persecuted in all fairness, but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians,” Mr. Trump said, referring to terror groups in the Middle East. “And I thought it was very, very unfair. So we are going to help them.”

On Friday, during a visit to the Pentagon, the president signed an executive action affecting U.S. policies towards refugees. Mr. Trump said the action calls for “extreme vetting” of refugees to keep foreign terrorists from entering the U.S.

As he signed it, the president announced, “that’s big stuff.”

The president, in his wide-ranging interview, also addressed comments about the media made by a top White House adviser, Steve Bannon. 

“I think the media is the opposition party in many ways,” Mr. Trump said, referencing Bannon’s remarks in the New York Times earlier this week. “And I think that, and I’m not talking about all of them.”

He added: “I think to a large extent they’re much more capable than the other side.”

“They treat me so unfairly it’s hard to believe that I won,” the president mused. “But the fortunate thing about me is I have a big voice. I have a voice that people understand.”

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