Donald Trump told the debate audience Tuesday that “tens of thousands of people” have “cell phones with ISIS flags on them.”
When asked how to make the country safer, Trump rattled off a list of familiar proposals from building a “great wall” to stopping the drug trade coming from Mexico. But he also alluded to thousands of people with ISIS flags on their cell phones who he would block from coming to the U.S.
“Our country is out of control. People are pouring across the southern border. I’ll build a wall. It’ll be a great wall. People will not come in unless they come in legally. Drugs will not pour through that wall,” Trump said. As far as other people, like in the migration, where they’re going — tens of thousands of people having cell phones with ISIS flags on them, I don’t think so. They’re not coming to this country if I’m president.”
Trump appears to be alluding to a Norwegian newspaper report that refugees in Norway had cell phones with pictures of ISIS flags and other brutal images on them.
According to the Netavisen report, however, a Norwegian official said there could be several reasons why refugees had the pictures. A rough translation of the story claimed: “One can be a witness and have a desire to show what you’ve seen, or you may have been tactically and have symbols associated with organizations that control areas passing through. What looks alarmingly out, may have other explanations than support for terrorist organizations, an official told the newspaper.”
The story was picked up by Infowars as well as the Daily Mail, which focused on the images themselves.
