NEW YORK - US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in an interview broadcast Sunday denied that he has rolled back his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US.
"In fact, you could say it's an expansion," Trump said on NBC's "Meet the Press" when asked about his speech at the Republican National Convention Thursday night, when he called for an immediate suspension of immigration from "any nation that has been compromised by terrorism" until there are proper vetting mechanisms.
"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 OK with that, because I'm talking territory instead of 'Muslim. But just remember this: Our Constitution is great. But it doesn't necessarily give us the right to commit suicide, OK?" Trump continued.
The Republican nominee said he would limit immigration from several countries that have been compromised by terrorism. He cited problems in Germany and France, which have been the sites of recent terrorist attacks over the past several weeks.
"Now, we have a religious, you know, everybody wants to be protected. And that's great. And that's the wonderful part of our Constitution. I view it differently," he said.
"Why are we committing suicide? Why are we doing it? But you know what? I live with our Constitution. I love our Constitution. I cherish our Constitution. We're making it territorial. We have nations, and we'll come out — I'm going to be coming out over the next few weeks with a number of the places. And it's very complex."
In the interview Trump also defended Fox News founder Roger Ailes, who left the network amid accusations of sexual harassment; criticised rival Hillary Clinton's newly named running mate, Senator Tim Kaine, for accepting gifts while Virginia's governor; dismissed descriptions of his nomination acceptance speech as "dark," instead calling it "optimistic"; and expressed disapproval of David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan leader who is seeking a Senate seat from Louisiana.
Asked about his Thursday night speech at the Republican convention, where he had said he would "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."
When NBC anchorman Chuck Todd noted that it "feels like a slight rollback" in policy, Trump replied: "I don't think so.”
"I actually don't think it's a rollback," Trump said. "In fact, you could say it's an expansion. I'm looking now at territory."
"People were so upset when I used the word Muslim," he added. "Oh, you can't use the word Muslim. Remember this. And I'm okay with that, because I'm talking territory instead of Muslim."
The New York billionaire promised that he would release, in the coming weeks, "a number of the places" from which he would want to cut off immigration.
"We have nations and we'll come out -- I'm going to be coming out over the next few weeks with a number of the places," Trump said. He went on to say that "there are specific problems in Germany and we have problems with France."
Asked if he would limit immigration from France, where the NBC anchorman noted "they've been compromised by terrorism," Trump replied: "They have totally been. And you know why? It's their own fault. Because they allowed people to come into their territory."
Pushing back on Trump, the anchorman interjected: "You could get to the point where you're not allowing a lot of people to come into this country."
"Maybe we get to that point," Trump said.
The Republican nominee then went on: "Here is what I want: Extreme vetting. Tough word. Extreme vetting... we're going to have tough standards."
Asked what he would do with refugees from Syria's civil war, Trump suggested that the US would help build "safe havens" in the Middle East for them and have Gulf States pay for them.
"We will help them and we will build safe havens over in Syria," he said. "We, the United States, we'll get Gulf States to pay for it, because we right now, we're going to have $21 trillion very soon -- trillion -- in debt. We will do safe havens and safe zones in Syria and we will get nations that are so wealthy that are not doing anything."
WTO is a disaster
Beyond questioning free travel from Europe to the United States, Trump put forward a vision of Europe as an economic competitor to be bested at all costs.
Asked, in relation to the British vote to leave the European Union, whether a fractured Europe was good for America, Trump equivocated.
"No, no -- but we're spending a lot of money in Europe," he said. "Don't forget, Europe got together, why primarily did they get together? To beat the United States when it comes to making money. In other words, on trade. Look at Airbus," he said. "They got together, all of these countries got together so they could beat the United States. Okay?"
Trump, who has already threatened to renegotiate or rip up the North American Free Trade Agreement, went on to suggest that the United States could pull out of the World Trade Organisation under his presidency.
In the interview, he put forward a plan for punitive import taxes of up to 30 percent on firms that move manufacturing activities abroad, citing NAFTA partner Mexico as an example.
When show host objected that such plans would be challenged at the WTO, he responded: "Doesn't matter. We'll renegotiate or pull out. These trade deals are a disaster, Chuck. World Trade Organization is a disaster."
Asked if he was concerned such actions could rattle the world economy -- much as the Brexit vote has done -- Trump was dismissive. "I'm the only one that said Brexit is going to happen," he said. "What did it do? The stock market is higher now than when it happened."
'Taking advantage of us'
Trump doubled down on a recent warning that the US might not meet its mutual defense obligations in Nato under his presidency -- if he deemed that a member state was not pulling its weight financially.
President Barack Obama weighed in, questioning Trump's readiness to be commander-in-chief in an interview on CBS. "Anybody who's been paying attention knows there is a big difference between challenging our European allies to keep up their defense spending, particularly at a time when Russia's been more aggressive, and saying to them, 'You know what? We might not abide by the central tenet of the most important alliance in the history of the world,'" Obama said.
Pressed on the issue, Trump was unapologetic, repeating that he would make allies shoulder defense costs that the United States has borne for decades. "Now, a country gets invaded. They haven't paid. Everyone said 'Oh, but we have a treaty'."
"We have countries within Nato taking advantage of us. With me, I believe they are going to pay," he said. "If they don't pay -- Chuck -- this isn't 40 years ago. This isn't 50 years ago. It's not 30 years ago. We're a different country today."
Trump said his demands for a review of defense spending by US allies would go beyond Nato. "We take care of Japan. We take care of Germany and South Korea and Saudi Arabia and we lose on everything," he said. "We can no longer be the stupid country."