Trump would push waterboarding, does not see NH as must-win

“In the Middle East you have people chopping off other people’s heads”. And if it’s going to be tougher than waterboarding, I would bring that back, too.

“I would absolutely authorize something beyond waterboarding and believe me, it will be effective”, he said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos”.

While there was some discussion among the Republican candidates at Saturday night’s debate in New Hampshire as to whether or not waterboarding was a form of torture (it is), Donald Trump went below and beyond everyone else on stage to insist that not only would he reinstitute waterboarding against America’s enemies, he would “bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding” as well. We are living in a time that’s as evil as any time that there has ever been. “And I’d bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding”.

Waterboarding is the practice of pouring water over someone’s face to mimic drowning as an interrogation tactic.

When asked to explain himself, Trump said that the U.S. refusal to use techniques such as waterboarding were creating an atmosphere conducive to extremism.

Waterboarding was used by the Central Intelligence Agency under the Bush administration during the early days of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Donald Trump stands by his position that waterboarding should be legal.

The billionaire businessman said that the tactic, which has been deemed torture, is justified in the case of ISIS and similar groups because of the brutal ways in which they act.

Senator Ted Cruz called waterboarding “enhanced interrogation” and said he would “use whatever enhanced interrogation methods we could to keep this country safe”.

“They laugh at us”. Our enemies laugh at us, George (addressing interviewer George Stephanopoulos). “They say waterboarding, they don’t even think it’s a form – you know, they don’t even view that as real torture”, he said.

When asked by Tapper if his performance in the caucuses meant he would have to win New Hampshire, Trump downplayed expectations for Tuesday.