Donald Trump made clear this weekend that he has not rolled back his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States, despite top allies insisting that he had.
In accepting the Republican nomination on Thursday night, Trump said the country “must immediately suspend immigration from any nation that has been compromised by terrorism until such time it’s proven that vetting mechanisms have been put in place.” Trump made no mention of Muslims in the speech, leading many to conclude that Trump had formally changed his position — just as a number of his top allies, including his running mate, said he had.
During an interview this weekend with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” host Chuck Todd asked Trump whether his comment should be interpreted as a “slight rollback.”
“I don’t think so. I actually don’t think it’s a rollback. In fact, you could say it’s an expansion,” Trump said. “I’m looking now at territory. People were so upset when I used the word ‘Muslim’: ‘Oh, you can’t use the word “Muslim.”‘ Remember this. And I’m okay with that, because I’m talking territory instead of Muslim.”
Trump first proposed banning nearly all Muslims overseas from the country in early December, soon after a terrorist attack in San Bernardino, Calif. Trump’s original statement — which calls for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” — is still on his campaign website. This position continues to be one of Trump’s most controversial and a key reason that some fellow Republicans do not want to help him with his campaign.
