President Trump’s executive order restricting travel and refugees from seven Islamic countries evoked utter hysteria from the mainstream media, Democrats, some Republicans, and even some church leaders.

That it was handed down so abruptly, providing Week One photo and protest ops for leftist demonstrators shouting “f–k Trump,” “not my president,” and “the ban is racist,” as well as weeks of fodder for the 24-hour news cycle, was criticized even by Trump supporters.  Why not take more time to roll out the policy, wondered Bill O’Reilly, and make it coincide with an outreach effort to the Muslim community?

On the other hand, is there any approach to the restriction of Muslim immigration that would mollify the “opposition party”?

By now plenty of media outlets have examined the actual details of the executive order and shown what relatively minor effects it will have on Islamic immigration to the United States.  Capping annual refugees at 50,000 is merely a return to the norm, the average in this country before President Obama opened the window a little wider (belatedly, as some argued).  None of the September 11 terrorists came from the infamous Seven Countries, whose names appear on a list from the Obama administration.  Terrorist hotbeds like Saudi Arabia were not on the list at all.  The refugee ban covers 120 days, and the travel ban to those same countries, a mere 90.  Prioritizing persecuted minorities is already an established principle of U.S. and international law.

“The fact of the matter is that 325,000 people from foreign countries came into the United States yesterday, and 109 people were detained for further questioning,” said White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus on Meet the Press, following the Saturday airport protests that caused American travelers to miss flights.

So what was all the hubbub about?  What was causing Lady Liberty to weep, as the Democratic leadership’s talking point said?  What were these “American values” that were trampled by Trump, according to a laundry list of celebrities?

The values of the NeverBorders crowd are multiculturalism, globalism, and internationalism.  Liberals, including many Republicans, have proclaimed these to be “American values” for decades now.  Christian leaders, from evangelical talking heads to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, cite Jesus’ admonition of Christian charity in Matthew 25 (a judgment, actually, against unbelievers who had no compassion for “the least of these, my brethren”—i.e., suffering Christians), conflating the duties of civil magistrates with those of the Church.  “Coexist,” the purveyors of these values cry, even as daily headlines demonstrate that diametrically opposed religions, worldviews, and ideologies cannot.

These are not the values of voters who elected Donald Trump.  And despite the constant drumbeat of pundits, public educators, and pop stars, these are not the values of an even greater number of Middle Americans, who are coming around to the idea of having an administration in Washington that actually prioritizes their needs and beliefs.

In response to Trump’s executive order, the left simply spoke according to instinct, referring to nonexistent violations of the Constitution, racism, bigotry, Islamophobia—the same tired lines that alienated the I’m With Her! campaign from the electorate.

My favorite headline came from the New York Times: “Trump Flirts With Theocracy.”  Yes, I’m sure that the average American, upon hearing that the owner of the Miss Universe pageant wished to move future victims of ISIS to the front of the refugee line, was struck with fear that President Trump would somehow reinstate blue laws, burn witches, and force every Muslim child in America to stop memorizing the Koran and start memorizing The Power of Positive Thinking.

Then again, fewer and fewer Americans even bother to read the New York Times.

Nonetheless, the left is doubling down, declaring that they are all Muslims now, a move that is sure to impress the likes of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.  Celebrities who prance naked on television are vowing to “register as Muslims” (however that might work) in order to protest the nonexistent Muslim ban.  NPR is interviewing a string of Muslims from around the globe who have become doctors and researchers (and liberal Democrats) in America thanks, in part, to generous U.S. aid, scholarships from federally funded universities, and affirmative action.  Lindsey Graham and John McCain are lamenting the fact that the “Muslim ban” angers all of our potential allies in the never-ending, blood-drenched Global War on Terror, making it difficult for the United States to wage war in the Middle East.  The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Iran, a country that placed draconian travel limits on Europeans, bans Israeli citizens (Palestinians and Jews) altogether, and executes Christian proselytizers, expressed outrage, as reported by CNN, calling Trump’s executive order “insulting” and “a gift to extremists.”

All of this because of a temporary pause.  In fact, a kinder, gentler version of the “temporary pause” that was a feature of the Trump campaign for months on end.

In light of that, the message to the American people (like a trap laid and sprung by Steve Bannon) was clear: The Establishment cares little about your safety, your jobs, or your culture, prioritizes Muslims over Christians, and will stop at nothing to continue the process of remaking America.