Trump, delivering what his campaign billed as a major speech on terrorism on Monday in Youngstown, Ohio, said immigration would need to be stopped from “some of the most risky and volatile regions of the world that have a history of exporting terrorism”, but he did not specify what they were.
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The speech comes as Trump has struggled to stay on message.
Trump’s speech coincided with sagging poll numbers in key swing states, as the Republican nominee has lurched from one controversy to the next.
Through the Republican primary season, Trump and his rivals blamed Clinton for opening the door to the rise of the Islamic State and goaded her for what they called a weak strategy against the militants once they gained firm footing.
Painting a grim picture of a world under attack and a homeland threatened by terror, he argued that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton doesn’t have the “mental and physical stamina” to fight ISIS. “But we must use ideological warfare as well”.
He said he would temporarily suspend immigration from nations with a history of “exporting terrorism” and would ask the State Department for a list of regions where screening is not now adequate.
He also vowed that, if he reached the White House, the United States would end nation building and introduce “foreign policy realism”.
Donald Trump proposed a new ideological test for all Muslim immigrants and visitors to this country, allowing entry only to “those who support our values”.
In a speech at Youngstown State in OH, a swing state, the Republican presidential nominee proposed using questionnaires, social media, and interviews with the family and friends of applicants to determine their stance on issues such as religious freedom, gender equality, and gay rights.
“We will also work closely with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation on this new mission”, said Trump, whose remarks about the defense organization earlier this summer drew heavy criticism from allies and even some of his fellow Republicans. But he did advocate a new ideological test for newcomers, backed by what he described as “extreme vetting”. Trump has said he would join forces with Russian Federation to combat the Islamic State. “Our country has enough problems, and we don’t need more”, he said.
In his speech Monday, Trump said his administration would be a friend to all moderate Muslim reformers.
“How can Trump put this forward with a straight face when he opposes marriage equality and selected as his running mate the man [Mike Pence] who signed an anti-LGBT law in IN?”
A Trump Administration, he said, will also work very closely with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation on this new mission. “And all of the many adversaries that we face”.
Clinton, stumping Monday in Scranton, Pennsylvania, with Vice President Joe Biden, slammed Trump’s policy proposals in confronting ISIS as erratic and inconsistent.
It would be a change from his claim last week that Mr. Obama and Clinton are the founders of ISIS. But first, he correctly assessed the situation: “The failure to establish a new Status of Forces Agreement in Iraq, and the election-driven timetable for withdrawal, surrendered our gains in that country and led directly to the rise of ISIS”. But after his proposal for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” was denounced by both Republicans and Democrats as a violation of religious freedom, Trump has since made alterations.
The proposal has been through several iterations, with Monday’s speech just the latest to provide a venue for further clarity.
It’s the latest version of Mr. Trump’s controversial immigration policy, which began in December as a call to temporarily ban foreign Muslims from entering into the country.
“So you can say Trump and his friend Putin are the founder of ISIS, which probably would be more accurate than calling out the commander in chief in that way”, McCaskill said, using another acronym for the terror group.
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While it is unclear which countries would fall under Mr Trump’s temporary ban, a Trump campaign official told the BBC to look at the current administration’s lists of countries with terrorism ties.
