The Trump campaign appeared to disavow one of its most provocative policy proposals on Thursday, as Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana said explicitly that Donald Trump no longer wants to impose a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the United States. In a round of television interviews in which he was asked to clarify once and for all where the campaign stands on the proposal, Pence, who opposed the ban before becoming Trump’s running mate, declared the idea dead. The reversal is a significant one for the Trump campaign, which was accused of promoting a policy that was discriminatory and likely unconstitutional when Trump unveiled it in the name of national security last year.
Asked on CNN about why he will not condemn the Muslim ban now, Pence said, “Because that’s not Donald Trump’s position now.”
In recent months, Trump has changed how he has talked about the ban, saying that “extreme vetting” of immigrants should be focused on people coming from countries that have been compromised by terrorists. But that idea led to more confusion, because it was not clear if it was an expansion of the Muslim ban or a shift away from it.
Still, the Trump campaign has continued to face questions about the ban because the press release from last December announcing the proposal has not been removed from Trump’s website.
“Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on,” the release said.
But in a separate interview on MSNBC on Thursday, Pence made clear that the Muslim ban was no longer on the table.
“So not a ban on all Muslims?” Joe Scarborough, the host of “Morning Joe” asked Pence.
"Of course not,” Pence replied.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2016/10/06/pence-disavows-trumps-earlier-proposal-banning-muslims
Asked on CNN about why he will not condemn the Muslim ban now, Pence said, “Because that’s not Donald Trump’s position now.”
In recent months, Trump has changed how he has talked about the ban, saying that “extreme vetting” of immigrants should be focused on people coming from countries that have been compromised by terrorists. But that idea led to more confusion, because it was not clear if it was an expansion of the Muslim ban or a shift away from it.
Still, the Trump campaign has continued to face questions about the ban because the press release from last December announcing the proposal has not been removed from Trump’s website.
“Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on,” the release said.
But in a separate interview on MSNBC on Thursday, Pence made clear that the Muslim ban was no longer on the table.
“So not a ban on all Muslims?” Joe Scarborough, the host of “Morning Joe” asked Pence.
"Of course not,” Pence replied.
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2016/10/06/pence-disavows-trumps-earlier-proposal-banning-muslims