John Brennan, who directed the CIA from March 2013 to January 2017, has described President Donald Trump‘s proposed executive order banning travel to the U.S. by visitors from seven majority-Muslim countries as “too simplistic and misguided.”
Speaking during an interview with the BBC, Brennan said that while he thinks “it is very important that there are measures taken to protect countries from individuals who may be trying to enter the borders for terrorist purposes,” the proposed executive order would be counterproductive.
“First of all, a lot of citizens from those countries who have very legitimate reason to travel to the United States—family, personal, professional, educational—I think are really going to see this as reflecting a different approach and a different tone from the United States which has prided itself on our 241 years of welcoming people from all walks of life and all countries,” he said.
This is not the first time Brennan and the president have not seen eye to eye. In April last year, Trump criticized comments made by Brennan about enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding. “I think his comments are ridiculous,” he told Fox and Friends. “I mean, they chop off heads and they drown people in cages with 50 in a cage, in big, steel heavy cages, drop them right into the water drown people, and we can’t water-board and we can’t do anything.”
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Jane Fonda Champions Climate Action for Every Generation
- Biden’s Campaign Is In Trouble. Will the Turnaround Plan Work?
- Why We're Spending So Much Money Now
- The Financial Influencers Women Actually Want to Listen To
- Breaker Sunny Choi Is Heading to Paris
- Why TV Can’t Stop Making Silly Shows About Lady Journalists
- The Case for Wearing Shoes in the House
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Write to Kate Samuelson at kate.samuelson@time.com