Joe Biden enacts Africa travel ban despite calling bans racist in 2020.
President Joe Biden announced a ban on travel to African countries on Friday in response to news of the newly appointed “Omicron” Variant of the coronavirus to prevent it from spreading.
“As a precaution, until we have more information, I am ordering additional restrictions on air travel from South Africa and seven other countries,” Biden wrote in a lengthy statement issued by the White House.
The president remains on his extended Thanksgiving weekend vacation to Nantucket and did not publicly address the country about the variant or his recently announced travel ban.
The ban will affect countries such as South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.
During the 2020 campaign, Biden repeatedly condemned then-President Donald Trump for imposing travel bans on foreign countries, calling them racist and xenophobic.
In response to Trump’s ban on travel from China in January 2020, Biden wrote: “We need to lead the way with science, not with Donald Trump’s record of hysteria, xenophobia and fear.”
We are in the midst of a crisis with the coronavirus. We need to lead the way with science — not Donald Trump’s record of hysteria, xenophobia, and fear-mongering. He is the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health emergency.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) February 1, 2020
At the time, Biden described Trump as “the worst possible person to lead our country through a global health emergency.”
In the election campaign, Biden continued to criticize Trump for his travel ban and again criticized Trump for enacting another ban on travel in Europe.
“Banning all travel from Europe, or any other part of the world, will not stop it,” Biden said, warning that “a wall will not stop the coronavirus.”
Biden also specifically criticized Trump in March for saying his travel ban saved lives.
“Stop the xenophobic propaganda of fear. Be honest. Take responsibility. Do your job, ”he wrote.
In February 2020, Biden specifically condemned Trump’s expanded travel ban for security reasons, which included Africa.
“Trump further downgraded the United States in the eyes of the world by expanding his travel ban,” Biden wrote. “This new ‘African Ban’ is designed to make it more difficult for black and brown people to migrate to the United States.”