database system that tracks Muslims here in this country?” TRUMP: “There should be a lot of systems, beyond databases. I mean we should have a lot of systems. And today you can do it. But right now we have to have a border. We have to have strength. We have to have a wall. And we cannot let what’s happening to this country happen anymore.” HILLYARD: “But that’s something your White House would like to implement?” TRUMP: “I would certainly implement that. Absolutely.” [NBC News, 11/20/15] • When Asked If American Muslims Would Be Required To Register In A Database, Donald Trump Said, “They Have To Be. They Have To Be.” “Donald J. Trump, who earlier in the week said he was open to requiring Muslims in the United States to register in a database, said on Thursday night that he ‘would certainly implement that — absolutely.’ Mr. Trump was asked about the issue by an NBC News reporter and pressed on whether all Muslims in the country would be forced to register. ‘They have to be,’ he said. ‘They have to be.’ When asked how a system of registering Muslims would be carried out — whether, for instance, mosques would be where people could register — Mr. Trump said: ‘Different places. You sign up at different places. But it’s all about management. Our country has no management.’” [New York Times, 11/20/15] • When Asked To Explain How Using Databases To Track Muslims In The U.S. Would Differ From Nazi Germany, Trump Responded Four Times, “You Tell Me.” “‘What else can you compare this to except to prewar Nazi Germany?’ [Ibrahim] Hooper [national spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations] asked. ‘There's no other comparison, and [Trump] seems to think that's perfectly OK.’ … Trump was repeatedly asked to explain how his idea was different. Four times, he responded: ‘You tell me.’” [NBC News, 11/20/15] AFTER RECEIVING CRITICISM FOR HIS MUSLIM DATABASE COMMENTS, TRUMP AND HIS CAMPAIGN MANAGER INSISTED THAT TRUMP HAD NOT SUGGESTED A MUSLIM DATABASE NOV 20: Trump’s Campaign Manager Said That Trump Was Commenting On The Terrorist Watch List And Not A Registry Of Muslims. “By Friday, though, he appeared to pull back slightly from the idea. In a post on Twitter, Mr. Trump complained that it was a reporter, not he, who hadfirst raised the idea of a database. And his campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, insisted that Mr. Trump had been asked leading questions by the NBC reporter under ‘blaring music’ and that he had in mind a terrorist watch list, not a registry of Muslims.” [New York Times, 11/21/15] NOV 20: Trump Tweeted That He Did Not Suggest A Muslim Database. “I didn't suggest a database-a reporter did. We must defeat Islamic terrorism & have surveillance, including a watch list, to protect America.” [@realDonaldTrump, Twitter, 11/20/15] ASKED IF HE UNEQUIVOCALLY RULED OUT A DATABASE OF MUSLIMS, TRUMP SAID “NO, NOT AT ALL” BUT ONLY EXPLICITLY INDICATED SUPPORT FOR A DATABASE OF SYRIAN REFUGEES NOV 22: When Asked If He Unequivocally Ruled Out A Muslim Database, Trump Said “No, Not At All. I Want A Database For The Refugees That — If They Come Into The Country.” STEPHANOPOULOS: “You did stir up a controversy with those comments over the database. Let’s try to clear that up. Are you unequivocally now ruling out a database on all Muslims?” TRUMP: “No, not at all. I want a database for the refugees that — if they come into the country. We have no idea who these people are. When the Syrian refugees are going to start pouring into this country, we don’t know if they’re ISIS, we don’t know if it’s a Confidential Page 135