Donald Trump on Monday will lay out his strategy for defeating radical Islamic terrorism, painting the fight as an ideological struggle on par with that of the Cold War.
In Ohio, the Republican presidential nominee will lay out proposals to combat ISIS and prevent terrorist attacks in the US, including banning individuals from countries where the US government cannot adequately vet visa applicants and increasing cooperation with willing Middle Eastern allies, a senior Trump campaign official said.
Trump is also set to make clear in his prepared remarks that the US will abandon any ambitions for nation-building or spreading democracy in the Middle East, expanding on his criticism of the Iraq War while on the campaign trail.
The campaign official argued that this would strengthen America’s ability to engage Middle Eastern allies in the fight against ISIS.
Trump’s expected call to work with Muslim allies comes against a backdrop of fierce criticism and condemnation of the Republican candidate from Muslims in the US and abroad since December, when he proposed “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
Beyond his immigration ban, Trump has also been criticized for suggesting that President Barack Obama is linked to radical Islamic terrorism, proposing surveillance of US mosques and proclaiming that he believes “Islam hates us.”
Trump’s speech on Monday comes as his campaign has faced sagging poll numbers in key swing states in recent weeks, as the Republican nominee has swung from one controversy to the next. Top Republicans have called on Trump to straighten out his flailing campaign.
Trump’s controversial proposal to ban Muslims from the US has been through several iterations, with Monday’s speech just the latest to provide a venue for further clarity.
The senior campaign official who previewed Trump’s speech did not address Trump’s initial description of the ban, but described the current proposal as one of withholding visas for individuals from any country “where we cannot perform adequate screenings” and where there is heavy terrorist activity.
Previously, however, Trump had moved beyond his call to ban all foreign Muslims from the US and proposed barring all individuals from counties “compromised by terrorism” — though he has not specified which countries match that criterion.
While his campaign staff and surrogates have sought to describe the ban on individuals from terror states as a rollback of Trump’s blanket ban on Muslim immigration, Trump recently characterized it on NBC’s “Meet the Press” as an “expansion” and has yet to refute his original proposal.