Trump To Host White House Ramadan Dinner

Politico reports:

President Donald Trump will host an iftar dinner at the White House next week to recognize the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, according to a White House official, a departure from last year’s decision not to host the traditional post-sundown meal. The iftar dinner is scheduled for Wednesday. The White House official declined to provide a list of attendees. The White House faced criticism last year for neglecting to host an iftar dinner, breaking with a long-standing tradition embraced by Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

The New York Times reports:



Mr. Trump has a long history of making inflammatory statements about Muslims. During his campaign, he told an interviewer, “I think Islam hates us.” He repeatedly insinuated over the years that former President Barack Obama might be a Muslim, and in 2015 he said he would seriously consider closing mosques. Late that year, he issued his call for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” and as president he issued a series of travel bans that mostly targeted Muslim nations.