WASHINGTON :The Trump campaign pushed back hard on reports that the presumptive Republican nominee was modifying his proposed ban on Muslims entering the US.
“This is not accurate,” said Hope Hicks, a spokesperson for the campaign .“There has been no change from the exchanges over the weekend.”
CNN had initially reported that Trump was planning to roll back his December proposal for “a total and complete shutdown on Muslims entering the US” and Trump national spokesperson Katrina Pierson, a frequent television surrogate for the campaign, seemed to agree with reports while trying to spin them. Although Pierson insisted “it’s only really a change if you never knew what the ban was to begin with”, she seemed to focus on the vetting process.
“If you are coming into this country and you cannot be vet ted, then you should not be allowed in until you can be vet ted. This is not rocket science,” she said.
She claimed the Muslim ban was “simply an immigration position” and said of Trump :“the initial ban on Muslims immigrating into the country that can not be vetted, he still does not want to come into this country. If you can be vetted, it’s a different story.” Pierson also wrongly claimed that there wasn’t an existing vetting process, telling CNN “we’re not going to base national security off Politi Fact or even the United Nations”.
The idea of a Muslim ban has long been controversial and has been condemned by Republican party leaders, including speaker Paul Ryan.
{{/usCountry}}The idea of a Muslim ban has long been controversial and has been condemned by Republican party leaders, including speaker Paul Ryan.
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