After remarking on Wednesday that his proposal bar Muslims from entering the United States was “just a suggestion,” Donald Trump on Friday morning said that he is not “softening” his position on the ban.
“Well, I’m not the president right now, so anything I suggest is really a suggestion. And if I were president, I’d put in legislation and do what I have to do,” Trump said when first asked by NBC’s “Today” co-host Matt Lauer if he was “softening” his stance on the Muslim ban.
“I’m looking at it very strongly,” Trump continued. “We have really a problem with radical Islamic terrorism, and we have a President that doesn’t want to use the term, he refuses to use the term.”
Lauer pressed Trump, again asking if he was softening his position on the Muslim ban.
“No, I’m not softening my stance at all, but I’m always flexible on issues,” Trump replied. “I am totally flexible on very, very many issues, and I think you have to be that way. But I’m not softening my stance. We have a major problem, and we have to look at the problem, we have to solve the problem.”
Whe asked about his proposal to ban Muslim visitors to the U.S. during a Wednesday interview on the “Kilmeade and Friends” radio show, Trump said, “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.”
