Kellyanne Conway appears to invent U.S. terrorist attack to defend Trump's refugee ban


President Trump's counselor and chief spinmeister Kellyanne Conway was on Thursday night's Hardball, and Chris Matthews was curious about Trump's executive order banning people from seven majority-Muslim countries and all refugees — and the pushback against its many critics. He noted that White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer had told State Department employees who signed a dissent cable to put up or get out.
"In other words, if you don't agree with the president and you work for the United States government, you shouldn't be there?" Matthews asked. Every president "has the right to really surround himself with a team that's going to work with him and not against him," Conway said. "Yeah, but civil servants swear their oath to the Constitution, they take a job for life in these career positions," Matthews protested. "Does a president have a right to insist that people who work for the federal government agree with him?" Conway shifted the discussion to terrorism, and in doing so she cited a nonexistent ban and a terrorist attack that doesn't seem to have happened.
"I bet there was very little coverage," she said, "I bet it's brand-new information for people that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized, and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre. Most people didn't know that because it didn't get covered."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
There's a reason for that. First, there was no "Bowling Green massacre," or even a planned attack that's public knowledge. In 2011, the FBI did arrest two Iraqi refugees in Bowling Green, Kentucky, for trying to send money and weapons to al Qaeda in Iraq, and after discovering one of the men's fingerprints on IEDs targeting U.S. troops in Iraq; they are both serving life sentences. "Neither was charged with plotting attacks within the United States," the FBI says. The arrest did prompt Obama to re-vet all Iraqi refugees in the U.S. and tighten up scrutiny of visa applicants from Iraq, which led to a temporary slowdown in visa approvals; there was no ban on either immigrants or refugees.
Matthews moved on, and in the interview's final part Conway explained why she and Trump believe it is important to use the phrase "radical Islamic terrorism," and why she thinks Trump's executive order will help eliminate it from "the globe."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Not there yet: The frustrations of the pocket AI
Feature Apple rushes to roll out its ‘Apple Intelligence’ features but fails to deliver on promises
By The Week US Published
-
George Foreman: The boxing champ who reinvented home grills
Feature He helped define boxing’s golden era
By The Week US Published
-
WHCA rejects White House press seating grab
Speed Read The White House Correspondents' Association objected to the Trump administration's bid to control where journalists sit during press briefings
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sends more migrants to El Salvador jail
Speed Read Another 17 Venezuelan alleged gang members have been deported to a notorious prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump 'not joking' about unconstitutional 3rd term
Speed Read The president seems to be serious about seeking a third term in 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictions
Speed Read Ghost guns can be regulated like other firearms
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto imports
Speed Read The White House says the move will increase domestic manufacturing. But the steep import taxes could also harm the US auto industry.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump allies urge White House to admit chat blunder
Speed Read Even pro-Trump figures are criticizing The White House's handling of the Signal scandal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Waltz takes blame for texts amid calls for Hegseth ouster
Speed Read Democrats are calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz to step down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published