When he was pressed later about the meaning of his comments, Trump offered a dismissive rhetorical shrug. “I’ll let people figure that out for themselves,” he said.
.. He called it a “temporary” ban, but that’s a lie. Trump said the ban would be lifted when Muslims and other immigrants can be screened “perfectly,” but that will never happen, and Trump has to know that.
Paul Ryan (Again) Rejects Trump’s Muslim Ban
This is a war with radical Islam. It’s not a war with Islam. Muslims are our partners. The vast, vast majority of Muslims in this country and around the world are moderate. They’re peaceful. They’re tolerant. And so they’re among our best allies, among our best resources in this fight against radical Islamic terrorism.
Washington Post Is Latest News Outlet Barred by Trump
.. effectively prohibiting journalists from one of the nation’s largest newspapers from joining the traveling press corps of the presumptive Republican nominee.
Barring journalists is an almost unheard-of practice for a modern presidential candidate. The Post is the latest major news organization that Mr. Trump has barred from his rallies and events this year, following Politico, BuzzFeed News, The Huffington Post and others.
.. he has been known to criticize reporters, then meet with them cordially shortly afterward.
.. Journalists without credentials can attend Trump events by obtaining tickets available to the general public. But a Politico reporter, Ben Schreckinger, said he was ejected from a Trump rally in California earlier this month by a campaign staff member and a private security guard.
There’s No Such Thing as Nice Trump
On Tuesday night, celebrating the end of the primaries, he had also used a prompter, eyes darting back and forth between the transparent screens as he enunciated each canned, lifeless word. The speeches were boring, and Trump—the consummate entertainer, skilled at taking the pulse of a crowd—looked miserable giving them.
.. He announced he was unveiling an addendum to his famous slogan: “Make America great again—for everyone!”
.. Wilson had little patience for the idea that Trump might still turn it around. “He’s 70 years old. He’s a narcissistic sociopath. He’s not going to change,” he said. “There is no better version of Donald Trump, no mindful, serious, presidential version, only the reality-TV, con-man, pro-wrestling dipshit Donald Trump.”
.. For Trump’s most loyal supporters, however, his unfiltered persona is nothing to apologize for, nothing that requires toning down; it’s a big part of what drew them to him in the first place. Over and over they tell me: He’s not a politician. He’s not politically correct. He speaks his mind. What happens to that appeal if Trump starts acting like a normal, boring, inoffensive candidate?
.. The core narrative of Trump’s speeches continues to be the story of his march to victory in the primaries. The way he came down the escalator a year ago, the way he proved the pundits wrong, the way he almost won Iowa and triumphed in New Hampshire and barreled through the rest of the states, even though the establishment tried to rig the system against him.
.. Dwight D. Eisenhower, great guy—you know, he won the Second World War,” Trump proclaimed. “Though I think other people had something to do with it, in all fairness. But he was given a lot of credit for winning the Second World War; he runs for president—I beat him. Richard Nixon, we beat Richard Nixon. Ronald Reagan, who we love—we beat Ronald Reagan. We beat Bush, we beat everybody.”
Had he just maligned as losers some of the historic greats of the Republican Party? He had. And the crowd was whooping and whistling, their cheers echoing in the hangar’s massive space, and Trump was having fun.