Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday slightly backed off his proposal to put a hold on Muslim immigration into the United States, saying it was just a “suggestion.”
“We have a serious problem. It’s a temporary ban. It hasn’t been called for yet. Nobody’s done it. This is just a suggestion until we find out what’s going on,” Trump told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade in a radio interview.
This shift in tone came the day before the presumptive GOP nominee was slated to meet with Republican leadership in Congress, including House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI). Ryan, who has not yet endorsed Trump, has repeatedly condemned the real estate mogul’s proposal to ban Muslim immigration, saying it is “not what this country stands for.”
As recently as last week, Trump was calling a temporary ban a necessary measure for the U.S. to remain “vigilant” and “strong” in preventing terrorist attacks.
In his interview with Kilmeade, Trump accused those who oppose denying immigrants entry to the U.S. on religious grounds, like newly-elected London mayor Sadiq Khan and President Obama, of denying the threat of “Islamic terrorism.”
And his xenophobic, racist supports won’t care
Is he filing Chapter 11 on his proposal?
The media is so awful with headlines this year. He wasn’t backing off from it in the actual interview. He meant it was a suggestion, as in, this is what I suggest we do, and then defended it.
Christ.
The problem is that Trump speaks in such vagaries, even when he is “backtracking”, that its impossible to pin him down to any position. The best one can do is note he threw in a new word to the salad and pretend its meaningful. But there he always provides himself enough wiggle room on either side, and when he doesn’t, he just denies he ever said it in the first place. How many times was he caught in outright lies during the debates…and he simply shrugged it off and said something completely different?
Reading the entrails of a sacrificed cow to determine a deity’s will is easier than trying to ascertain what Trump actually means in one of his statements.
Huh? He just doubled down what he’s kept saying, no? Calling it “just a suggestion” doesn’t change it.