In an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition on Tuesday, retired Army Lieutenant General and outspoken Donald Trump advocate Michael Flynn told host Steve Inskeep that the Republican presidential hopeful’s plan to ban Muslim people from entering the country is “not workable.” Inskeep reminded Flynn of Trump’s ever-changing position on his proposed ban on Muslim immigration. Inskeep asked, “In the end, do we have here a laudable effort to protect the United States from all harm that is just not workable at all?” After a brief back and forth, Flynn admitted this:
“Well, yeah, I mean, you can’t just say, you know, blanket — but what you have to do is recognize that we have a completely different threat environment that we are dealing with now. So we have to think differently, and we have to use some imagination, and we have to still protect our American values and what we represent to the rest of the world. So to put a blanket on any organization, any segment of the population, is not workable, but we do have to recognize what types of things must we be able to do to continue to protect our own country and our way of life.”
Earlier in the conversation, Inskeep asked, “Do you think that banning Muslims from entering the United States, and sending that signal to all of them around the world, is going to encourage Muslims to take a friendlier posture toward the West?” Flynn replied, “This is not about a permanent ban.” He went on, “The Islamic State has, and they’ve stated it, they actually stated it in their various media outlets, that they are going to infiltrate into the refugee populations that are entering different countries around the world.”
So, Flynn’s still endorsing Trump’s proposed ban in a way, but he still admits that the reality isn’t possible. Such political gymnastic feats are becoming regular feats in this election season, and it’s not even close to over yet.
(Via NPR)