Loud Whispers

Mr Trump told supporters at a campaign-style rally that a district judge in Hawaii had halted his order, which temporarily suspends the US refugee programme and bars the entry of people from certain Muslim-majority countries.

The president told the rally in Nashville, Tennessee, that the ruling is unprecedented judicial overreach” and “makes us look weak”.

He said he is going to fight the decision and take it all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary, adding: “We’re going to win.”

US District Judge Derrick Watson put the revised travel ban on hold hours before it was due to take effect.

He questioned whether the administration was motivated by national security concerns, and said Hawaii would suffer financially if the executive order blocked the flow of students and tourists to the state.

The judge concluded that Hawaii was likely to succeed on a claim that the ban violates First Amendment protections against religious discrimination.

“The illogic of the government’s contentions is palpable,” he wrote.

“The notion that one can demonstrate animus toward any group of people only by targeting all of them at once is fundamentally flawed.”

He made it clear that his decision applied nationwide, ruling that the ban could not be enforced at any US borders or ports of entry or in the issuance of visas.

The judge issued his 43-page ruling less than two hours after hearing Hawaii’s request for a temporary restraining order to stop the ban from being put into practice.

The ruling came as opponents renewed their legal challenges across the country, asking judges in three states to block the executive order that targets people from six predominantly Muslim countries.

Federal courts in Maryland, Washington state and Hawaii heard arguments on Wednesday about whether it should be allowed to take effect early Thursday as scheduled.

In all, more than half a dozen states are trying to stop the ban.