CLIVE, Iowa (AP) 鈥 Doubling down on the hard-line immigration policies that have long animated his base, former President Donald Trump on Monday vowed to bar refugees from Gaza and immediately expand his first-term Muslim travel ban if he wins a second term following the deadly attack on Israel last week.
Speaking to supporters in Iowa, Trump said that if he returns to the Oval Office, he will immediately begin 鈥渋deological screening鈥 for all immigrants and bar those who sympathize with Hamas and Muslim extremists. has sparked what is now the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides, with more than 4,000 dead.
His proposals would mark a dramatic expansion of the controversial 鈥 and legally dubious 鈥 policies that drew alarm from immigrant rights and civil liberties activists, but helped him win the GOP primary in 2016. Trump from countries he has dubbed inferior, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, and told the crowd Monday that while he was president the U.S. stood up for Israel and 鈥淛udeo-Christian civilization and values.鈥
Trump also continued to paint himself as a martyr for his loyal supporters, railing against the four indictments he is facing along with by the federal judge overseeing against him in Washington. The order, which Trump has pledged to appeal, bars him from making statements targeting prosecutors, possible witnesses and court staff.
鈥淚 am willing to go to jail if that鈥檚 what it takes for our country to become a democracy again,鈥 he said in Clive.
Trump pledged to bar the entry of refugees from Gaza fleeing Israel鈥檚 retaliatory strikes after the surprise Oct. 7 attack, just as he tried to bar citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries during his first term with an executive order. The executive order, however, was met with fierce opposition and was fought all the way to the Supreme Court. The high court eventually upheld a third version of the ban, which included travelers from North Korea and some from Venezuela.
Current and former members of communist and totalitarian parties and their sympathizers are already banned from entry into the U.S. But Trump told about 1,500 people in suburban Des Moines that if he wins a second term, the U.S. would no longer allow what he called 鈥渄angerous lunatics, haters, bigots and maniacs to get residency in our country.鈥
鈥淚f you empathize with radical Islamic terrorists and extremists, you鈥檙e disqualified," he said. "If you want to abolish the state of Israel, you鈥檙e disqualified. If you support Hamas or any ideology that鈥檚 having to do with that or any of the other really sick thoughts that go through people鈥檚 minds 鈥 very dangerous thoughts 鈥 you鈥檙e disqualified.鈥
The former president and GOP front-runner also said he would aggressively deport resident aliens with 鈥渏ihadist sympathies鈥 and send immigration agents to 鈥減ro-jihadist demonstrations鈥 to identify violators.
鈥淚n the wake of the attacks on Israel, Americans have been disgusted to see the open support for terrorists among the legions of foreign nationals on college campuses. They鈥檙e teaching your children hate,鈥 he said. 鈥淯nder the Trump administration, we will revoke the student visas of radical anti-American and anti-Semitic foreigners at our colleges and universities and we will send them straight back home."
Though Trump's audience in the Horizon Events Center in Clive cheered his proposals, 31-year-old information technology specialist Ritu Bansal said she supported Trump but hoped he would also show compassion for the people of Gaza.
鈥淚n my opinion the U.S. government should care for the victims of the Hamas attack on Israel and the civilian victims in Gaza,鈥 Bansal said. 鈥淭he U.S. can care for both.鈥
Trump has stepped up his caucus campaigning this fall as his team tries to lock in support to not only avoid a repeat of his 2016 second-place finish but to win an overwhelming victory that would deny momentum to whoever finishes in second place.
Earlier, Trump rallied caucusgoers in Iowa鈥檚 rural Dallas County, where he received the endorsement of the state鈥檚 attorney general and predicted a landslide victory three months before voting begins in the GOP contest鈥檚 kickoff state.
Brenna Bird, Iowa's Republican attorney general, served previously as former Iowa Rep. Steve King鈥檚 chief of staff as well as an aide to former Gov. Terry Branstad and Gov. Kim Reynolds. Last year, Bird beat longtime Democratic Attorney General Tom Miller.
By late Monday afternoon, Trump had campaigned before roughly 13,000 people in less than a month. Unlike , Trump's team is using the candidate's celebrity to draw interested Republicans and track interest in supporting him in the leadoff caucuses set for Jan. 15.
鈥淣inety-one days. Are you ready?鈥 Trump asked more than 1,000 supporters packed into a livestock expo barn at the Dallas County fairgrounds in Adel. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have a historic landslide,鈥 Trump predicted as he stood flanked by giant bales of hay.
Trump's advisers want to lock in a blowout that discourages and taking on the former president directly.
After Trump鈥檚 second-place 2016 finish behind Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a ragtag effort of big crowds but little organization, state GOP staffers cleaned out his caucus campaign office to find thousands of signed pledge cards that had never been logged.
鈥淚 can promise you there is no backlog," said Alex Latcham, a senior Trump adviser and early-state coordinator.
___ Colvin reported from New York.
