‘Afraid’ Christiane Amanpour Says Traveling to US Feels Like Visiting North Korea
CNN’s Christiane Amanpour compared traveling to the United States under President Donald Trump as a foreigner to visiting North Korea, revealing some of the precautions she took during a recent trip.
On her Ex-Files podcast on Wednesday, Amanpour, a British-born journalist, revealed in a discussion with her ex-husband James Rubin that she spoke to CNN and carried a “burner phone” when traveling to the United States last month to speak at Harvard.
“I must say I was afraid. I’m a foreigner. I don’t have a green card. I’m not an American citizen. I’m fairly prominent, and I literally prepared to go to America as if I was going to North Korea. I took a burner phone, Jamie. Imagine that, James,” Amanpour said.
She added she only carried a handful of numbers on this “burner” phone and she did not bring her iPad or other electronic devices.
On top of Trump’s mass deportation efforts to remove illegal migrants in the country, he also recently signed a full travel ban on a dozen countries and a partial ban on visitors from seven others, citing security and public safety concerns. Amanpour’s podcast episode dropped ahead of Trump signing his travel bans.
Amanpour said she’s heard stories of foreigners being stopped for “hours and hours,” so she spoke to CNN’s security staff before traveling to the United States.
“I even talked to the CNN security person because of this — I’ve heard that man, including British citizens, are being stopped at the border and questioned for hours and hours and hours,” she said.
Her trip went off without incident, but Amanpour argued her feelings are not exclusive to her.
“So, huge sigh of relief I breathed, but wow, can you imagine if I’m afraid, what do others think?” she said.
In her speech to Harvard graduates, Amanpour encouraged them to take their careers beyond the borders of the United States.
“Go abroad and start your career,” she said. “I say that in many graduations, and I’m saying it today for a reason. Find your government work and your public service, while you need to, in other countries. The world needs you, and most certainly, America needs ambassadors like you.”
Watch above via The Ex-Files.
