President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau didn’t see eye to eye on immigration and refugees, but the two leaders still pledged Monday to work together to keep their countries safe from terrorism.
At a joint press conference at the White House, Mr. Trump said that the U.S. faces immense national security threats and vowed to pursue his “extreme vetting” program.
Mr. Trump defended his temporary halt on visitors form seven Muslim-majority countries, saying that “we cannot let the wrong people in and I wont.”
“It’s much more than toughness. It’s a stance of common sense,” the president said of the program, which has been blocked by federal courts.
He made the remarks standing beside Mr. Trudeau, a liberal superstar on the international stage and a critic of Mr. Trump’s policies. In response to Mr. Trump’s vetting program, he previously had pledged to welcome all refugees to Canada.
But he wouldn’t criticize Mr. Trump while at the White House.
“The last thing Canadians expect is for me to come down and lecture another country on how they should govern themselves,” Mr. Trudeau said.
He stressed that Canada and the U.S. remain the closest of allies and have a long history of fighting side by side against common enemies in the world.
However, Mr. Trudeau said that he focused on keeping his country safe while welcoming nearly 40,000 Syrian refugees in the past year.
“We continue to pursue our policies of openness towards immigration and refugees without compromising security,” he said.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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