Political positions of Donald Trump: Difference between revisions

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Donald Trump is an American businessman, politician, television personality, author, and the nominee of the Republican Party for President of the United States in the 2016 election.

Trump has described his political positions in various ways over time, and some of his positions have changed.^[1][2][3] PolitiFact writes that Trump's stance on issues has often been vague or contradictory.^[4] Politico has described his positions as "eclectic, improvisational and often contradictory."^[5] PolitiFact counts at least 17 times when Trump said one thing and then denied having said it.^[6] As delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention began to draft the official party platform, Trump was a "distant presence," signaling that the party's platform may differ from Trump's own views.^[7]

Trump has said that he is "totally flexible on very, very many issues."^[8] Trump's "signature issue" is illegal immigration,^[9] and in particular building or expanding a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.^[10]

Trump's political positions are widely viewed as populist.^[11][12] Among academics, political writers, and pundits, Trump and his politics have been classified in greater detail, but in varying ways.

Liberal economist and columnist Paul Krugman disputes that Trump is a populist, arguing that his policies favor the rich over those less well off.^[13] Harvard Kennedy School political scientist Pippa Norris has described Trump as a "populist authoritarian" analogous to European parties such as the Swiss People's Party, Austrian Freedom Party, Swedish Democrats, and Danish People's Party.^[14] Columnist Walter Shapiro and political commentator Jonathan Chait describe Trump as authoritarian.^[15][16] Conservative commentator Mary Katharine Ham characterized Trump as a "casual authoritarian," saying "he is a candidate who has happily and proudly spurned the entire idea of limits on his power as an executive and doesn't have any interest in the Constitution and what it allows him to do and what does not allow him to do. That is concerning for people who are interested in limited government."^[17] Charles C. W. Cooke of the National Review has expressed similar views, terming Trump an "anti-constitutional authoritarian."^[18] Libertarian journalist Nick Gillespie, by contrast, calls Trump "populist rather than an authoritarian".^[19]

Legal experts spanning the political spectrum, including many conservative and libertarian scholars, have suggested that "Trump's blustery attacks on the press, complaints about the judicial system and bold claims of presidential power collectively sketch out a constitutional worldview that shows contempt for the First Amendment, the separation of powers and the rule of law."^[20] Law professors Randy E. Barnett, Richard Epstein, and David G. Post, for example, suggest that Trump has little or no awareness of, or commitment to, the constitutional principles of separation of powers and federalism.^[20] Law professor Ilya Somin believes that Trump "poses a serious threat to the press and the First Amendment," citing Trump's proposal to expand defamation laws to make it easier to sue journalists and his remark that Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos will "have problems" if he is elected president.^[20] Anthony D. Romero, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, wrote in an op-ed published in the Washington Post in July 2016 that "Trump's proposed policies, if carried out, would trigger a constitutional crisis. By our reckoning, a Trump administration would violate the First, Fourth, Fifth and Eighth amendments if it tried to implement his most controversial plans."^[21]

Republican opinion journalist Josh Barro terms Trump a "moderate Republican," saying that except on immigration, his views are "anything but ideologically rigid, and he certainly does not equate deal making with surrender."^[22] MSNBC host Joe Scarborough says Trump is essentially more like a "centrist Democrat" on social issues.^[23] Journalist and political analyst John Heilemann has characterized Trump as liberal on social issues,^[24] while conservative talk radio host and political commentator Rush Limbaugh says that Heilemann is seeing in Trump what he wants to see.^[25]

John Cassidy of the New Yorker writes that Trump seeks to make the Republican Party "into a more populist, nativist, avowedly protectionist, and semi-isolationist party that is skeptical of immigration, free trade, and military interventionism."^[26]

Washington Post editorial page editor Fred Hiatt and College of the Holy Cross political scientist Donald Brand describe Trump as a nativist.^[27][28] Rich Lowry, the editor of National Review, instead calls Trump an "immigration hawk" and supports Trump's effort to return immigration levels to a historically average level.^[29]

Trump is a protectionist, according to free-market advocate Stephen Moore and conservative economist Lawrence Kudlow.^[30]

In 2015, Crowdpac gave Trump a ranking of 0.4L out of 10L. In 2016, Crowdpac gave Trump a ranking of 5.1C out of 10C, shifting Donald Trump more to the conservatism spectrum.^[31]

The organization and website On the Issues has classified Trump in a variety of ways over time: as a "moderate populist" (2003);^[32] a "liberal-leaning populist" (2003–2011);^[33] a "moderate populist conservative" (2011–2012);^[34] a "libertarian-leaning conservative" (2012–2013);^[35] a "moderate conservative" (2013–2014);^[36] a "libertarian-leaning conservative" (2014–2015);^[37] a "hard-core conservative" (2015);^[38] a "libertarian-leaning conservative" (2015–2016);^[38][39] and a "moderate conservative" (2016–present).^[40]

Trump's signature economic policies are the raising of tariffs, across-the-board tax cuts, the dismantling of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"), and opposition to changing entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

According to a report by Moody's Analytics, the implementation of Trump's stated economic policies would make the U.S. economy "significantly weaker":

Under the scenario in which all his stated policies become law in the manner proposed, the economy suffers a lengthy recession and is smaller at the end of his four-year term than when he took office (see Chart). By the end of his presidency, there are close to 3.5 million fewer jobs and the unemployment rate rises to as high as 7%, compared with below 5% today. During Mr. Trump’s presidency, the average American household’s after-inflation income will stagnate, and stock prices and real house values will decline. Under the scenarios in which Congress significantly waters down his policy proposals, the economy will not suffer as much, but would still be diminished compared with what it would have been with no change in economic policies."^[41][42][43]

Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi was the lead author of the report, with three others; Zandi is a Democrat who was an occasional adviser to Republican Senator John McCain during his 2008 presidential campaign, contributed to Hillary Clinton's campaign, and performed analysis in support of President Obama's stimulus program.^[43] The Trump campaign disputed Moody's analysis, arguing that the report was based on flawed assumptions about proposals that have not been fully fleshed out and that Trump's tax cuts and deregulation proposals would help stimulate the economy.^[43]

According to the Chicago Tribune, Trump has not addressed childcare costs in his 2016 presidential bid (as of July 2016).^[44]

Trump has repeatedly questioned official employment numbers, suggesting at different times that the actual unemployment rate could be as high as 18-20%, 24% or 42%.^[45][46] Fact-checkers note that these claims are false; the Washington Post fact-checker called them "absurd" and gave them "Four Pinocchios," its lowest rating for truthfulness, while PolitiFact gave the statement its "Pants on Fire" rating, noting that even the broadest measure of unemployment and underemployment was far below Trump's claimed figures.^[46][47]

Trump supported the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a $700 billion emergency bailout fund that rescued banks after the subprime mortgage crisis. On September 30, 2008, days before the bailout bill passed, Trump told CNN's Kiran Chetry that he supported the legislation, saying that while the situation was "more complicated than sending rockets to the moon" and nobody was sure what the result would be, it was "worth a shot" and a "probable positive."^[48] The following year, when asked by Larry King what he viewed of the Obama administration, Trump stated: "I do agree with what they're doing with the banks. Whether they fund them or nationalize them, it doesn't matter, but you have to keep the banks going."^[48]

In May 2016, Trump said that if elected president he would dismantle "nearly all" of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a financial regulation package enacted after the financial crisis.^[49] Trump called Dodd-Frank "a very negative force."^[49] Trump told Reuters that he will release his own financial regulation plan in the beginning of June 2016.^[50]

Trump supports proposals that would grant Congress the ability to audit the Federal Reserve's decisionmaking and take power away from the Federal Reserve.^[51][52][53] Trump favors the monetary policy currently followed by Janet Yellen, Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, but nevertheless accuses her of being "highly political" and of doing President Obama's bidding.^[51] At other times, he has said that Yellen has "done a serviceable job" though he "would be more inclined to put other people in" the Federal Reserve.^[52]

Trump favors returning to the gold standard, saying "Bringing back the gold standard would be very hard to do, but, boy, would it be wonderful. We'd have a standard on which to base our money."^[54][55] Few economists support a return to the gold standard; Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research notes that the proposal is considered a fringe idea among economists.^[55]

In 1999, during his abortive 2000 Reform Party presidential campaign, told Larry King: "I believe in universal health care."^[56] In his 2000 book, The America We Deserve, Trump reiterated his call for universal health care and focused on a Canadian-style single-payer health care system as a means to achieve it.^[56] In 2015, Trump also expressed admiration for the Scottish health-care system, which is single payer.^[56]

As the 2016 campaign unfolded, Trump stated that he favors repealing the Affordable Care Act (ACA or "Obamacare")—which Trump refers to as a "complete disaster"^[57]—and replacing it with a "free-market system."^[56] On his campaign website, Trump says, "on day one of the Trump Administration, we will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of Obamacare."^[58][59] Trump's campaign has insisted that the candidate has "never supported socialized medicine."^[56]

In the early part of his campaign, Trump responded to questions about his plan to replace the ACA by saying that it would be "something terrific!"^[57][60] Trump subsequently said at various points that he believes that the government should have limited involvement of health care, but has also said that "at the lower end, where people have no money, I want to try and help those people," by "work[ing] out some sort of a really smart deal with hospitals across the country."^[60] and has said "everybody's got to be covered."^[57]

At a February 2016 town hall on CNN, Trump said that he supported the individual health insurance mandate of the ACA, which requires all Americans to have health insurance, saying "I like the mandate. So here's where I'm a little bit different [from other Republican candidates]."^[61][62] In March 2016, Trump reversed himself, saying that "Our elected representatives must eliminate the individual mandate. No person should be required to buy insurance unless he or she wants to."^[63]

In March 2016 Trump released his health care plan, which called for allowing health-insurance companies to compete across state lines and for making Medicaid into a block grant system for the states. He also called for elimination of the individual mandate for health insurance, for allowing health insurance premiums to be deducted on tax returns, and for international competition in the drug market. In the same document, Trump acknowledged that mental health care in the U.S. is often inadequate but offered no immediate solution to the problem, instead stating that "there are promising reforms being developed in Congress."^[63]

Trump has called for allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with prescription-drug companies to get lower prices for the Medicare Part D prescription-drug benefit, something currently prohibited by law. Trump has claimed on several occasions that this proposal would save $300 billion a year. Glenn Kessler, the fact-checker for the Washington Post, gave this statement a "four Pinocchios" rating, writing that this was a "truly absurd" and "nonsense figure" because it was four times the entire cost of the Medicare prescription-drug system.^[64]

Unlike his rivals in the 2016 Republican primary race, Trump opposes cuts in Social Security and Medicare benefits.^[65][66] This is a departure from Trump's earlier views; in his book published in 2000, Trump called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme" and said it should be privatized.^[66] Trump previously proposed raising the Social Security retirement age to 70 from 67, but he backed away from this stance in 2015, instead claiming that Social Security should be funded by canceling foreign aid to anti-American countries.^[66]

Trump supports investment in American infrastructure.^{[67][68][69][70]} He wrote in his 2015 book Crippled America that "Our airports, bridges, water tunnels, power grids, rail systems—our nation's entire infrastructure is crumbling, and we aren't doing anything about it." Trump noted that infrastructure improvements would stimulate economic growth while acknowledging "on the federal level, this is going to be an expensive investment, no question about that."^[69][70] In an October 2015 interview with the Guardian, Trump stated: "We have to spend money on mass transit. We have to fix our airports, fix our roads also in addition to mass transit, but we have to spend a lot of money."^[71] In a Republican primary debate in December 2015, Trump said: "We've spent $4 trillion trying to topple various people. If we could've spent that $4 trillion in the United States to fix our roads, our bridges and all of the other problems—our airports and all of the other problems we've had—we would've been a lot better off."^[69]

On the campaign trail, Trump has decried "our airports, our roads, our bridges," likening their state to that of "a Third World country."^[72][73] Trump has on some occasions overstated the proportion of U.S. bridges that are structurally deficient.^[72] Unlike many of his Republican opponents,^[71] Trump has expressed support for high-speed rail, calling the U.S.'s current rail network inferior to foreign countries' systems.^[68][71]

Trump's comments about the minimum wage have been inconsistent.^[74][75]

In August 2015, in a televised interview, Trump said "Having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country."^[76] On November 10, 2015, speaking at a Republican debate, Trump said he opposed increasing the U.S. minimum wage, saying that doing so would hurt America's economic competitiveness.^[77][78] At the same debate, Trump said in response to a question about the minimum wage and the economy as a whole: "...taxes too high, wages too high, we’re not going to be able to compete against the world. I hate to say it, but we have to leave it the way it is."^[79]

On May 5, 2016, two days after becoming the presumptive Republican nominee, Trump said in an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he was "actually looking at" raising the minimum wage, saying, "I'm very different from most Republicans."^[80] Three days later, in an interview on This Week with George Stephanopoulos: "... I haven't decided in terms of numbers. But I think people have to get more." He acknowledged his shift in position since November, saying "Well, sure it's a change. I'm allowed to change. You need flexibility ..."^[81][82]

Later on May 8, on Meet the Press, he said "I would like to see an increase of some magnitude. But I'd rather leave it to the states. Let the states decide."^[83][84] Asked if the federal government should set a floor (a national minimum wage), Trump replied: "No, I’d rather have the states go out and do what they have to do."^[85] However, three days later, on May 11, on Twitter, in a response to a tweet by Elizabeth Warren, Trump said that "... Elizabeth Warren lied when she says I want to abolish the Federal Minimum Wage. See media—asking for increase!"^[86][87]

On July 26, 2016, Trump said "There doesn't have to be [a federal minimum wage]," but that "I would leave it and raise it somewhat. You need to help people." Host Bill O'Reilly then asked "Ten bucks?" Trump agreed: "I would say 10. I would say 10." He added "But with the understanding that somebody like me is going to bring back jobs. I don't want people to be in that $10 category for very long. But the thing is, Bill, let the states make the deal."^[88]

In February 2016, Trump said on a radio program: "My position on unions is fine, but I like right to work. My position on right to work is 100 percent."^[89]

Trump has frequently spoken in favor of deregulation, and if elected president is viewed as likely to oversee an Occupational Safety and Health Administration that conducts "less enforcement and practically no rulemaking" on issues of workplace safety and health.^[90]

Trump has not put forth a plan on higher education or student loans. However, in May 2016 Trump's campaign co-chair, Sam Clovis stated that the ideas being prepared by the campaign included getting government out of student lending; requiring colleges to share in risk of loans; discouraging borrowing by liberal arts majors; and moving the Office of Civil Rights from the Education Department to Justice Department.^[91]

The Trump campaign opposes Hillary Clinton's proposal for debt-free public higher education, Bernie Sanders's plan for free public higher education and President Obama's proposals for a state-federal partnership to make community college free for new high school graduates.^[91]

On the federal personal income tax, Trump has proposed collapsing the current seven brackets (which range from 10% to 39.6%) to three brackets of 10%, 20%, and 25%; increasing the standard deduction; taxing dividends and capital gains at a maximum rate of 20%; repealing the alternative minimum tax; and taxing carried interest income as ordinary business income (as opposed to existing law, which provides for preferential treatment of such income).^[92][93] With respect to business taxes, Trump has proposed reducing the corporate tax rate to 15%; limiting the top individual income tax rate on pass-through businesses such as partnerships to no more than 15%; repealing most business tax breaks as well as the corporate alternative minimum tax; imposing a "deemed repatriation tax" of up to 10% of accumulated profits of foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies on the effective date of the proposal, payable over 10 years; and taxing future profits of foreign subsidiaries of U.S. companies each year as the profits are earned (i.e., ending the deferral of income taxes on corporate income earned in other countries).^[92][93] Trump has also called for the repeal of the federal estate tax and gift taxes and for capping the deductibility of business interest expenses.^[92][93]

Detailed analyses by both two nonpartisan tax research organizations, the conservative Tax Foundation and centrist Tax Policy Center, concluded that Trump's tax plan would "boost the after-tax incomes of the wealthiest households by an average of more than $1.3 million a year" and significantly lower taxes for the wealthy.^[92][94] The Tax Policy Center "calculated the average tax cuts for the rich and the very rich" under Trump's plan as "$275,000 or 17.5 percent of after-tax income for the top 1 percent, and $1.3 million or nearly 19 percent for the top 0.1 percent (those making over $3.7 million)."^[95]

An analysis by Citizens for Tax Justice found that under Trump's plan, the poorest 20% of Americans would see a tax cut averaging $250, middle-income Americans would see an tax cut averaging just over $2,500, and the best-off 1% of Americans would see a tax cut averaging over $227,000.^[93] CTJ determined that 37% of Trump's proposed tax cuts would benefit the top 1%.^[95]

Trump's claims that his tax plan would be "revenue neutral" have been rated "false" by PolitiFact, which found that "Free market-oriented and liberal groups alike say Trump's tax plan would lead to a $10 trillion revenue loss, even if it did create economic growth."^[96] An analysis by the Tax Foundation indicated that Trump's tax proposal would increase economic growth by 11% and wages by 6.5%, and create 5.3 million jobs, while decreasing revenue by $10 trillion over a decade.^[97] Prominent anti-tax activist Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform called Trump's tax proposal a "pro-growth, Reaganite plan";^[98] as of May 2016, Trump has not signed Norquist's no-new-taxes pledge, but has indicated that he will in the future.^[99]

Trump has pledged to balance the budget in ten years; not cut Social Security or Medicare; increase defense spending; and enact tax cuts that would lose $9.5 trillion of revenues over the next decade. Economist Jared Bernstein notes that it is mathematically impossible to fulfill all of these pledges, writing: "Trump would need to cut spending outside the Social Security, Medicare, and defense by 114 percent to make his budget balance, which is, of course, impossible."^[100] The fact-checking website PolitiFact similarly concluded: "Trump's tax plan means either unprecedented spending cuts or increased federal borrowing. But Trump has released no details about the gap, all the while vowing to protect Social Security and Medicare, two of the largest line items on the federal budget."^[95]

An analysis of Trump's campaign proposals by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) showed that Trump's key proposals would increase the debt by between $11.7 and $15.1 trillion to the U.S. national debt over the next 10 years, with the U.S.'s debt-to-GDP ratio rising to 115% to 140% of GDP. The CRFB analysis showed that "growth would have to be roughly 5 times as large as projected, and twice as high as the fastest growth period in the last 60 years (which was between 1959 and 1968)" in order to balance the budget under Trump's plan, which is "practically impossible."^[101][102]

Trump has vowed "tremendous cutting" of budgets for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Education if elected.^[103] However, Trump has "proposed large spending increases in certain areas," which the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities states would mean "even deeper cuts to other programs" if such spending increases are to be offset.^[104]

On May 9, 2016, Trump said on Meet the Press: "The thing I'm going to do is make sure the middle class gets good tax breaks. For the wealthy, I think, frankly, it's going to go up. And you know what, it really should go up." The following day, Trump backtracked on his comment on taxation of the wealthy, "saying he had been referring to potential adjustments to his own tax policy proposal" and did not support an increase in taxes of the wealthy from current levels.^[99][105] Trump's has frequently throughout his presidential campaign changed his view as to whether the wealthy should see tax cuts or increases.^[106]

Trump has repeatedly asserted that the United States is the "highest-taxed nation in the world," a statement found to be false by the Associated Press and PolitiFact.^[107][108] The Associated Press noted that the U.S. tax burden is actually one of the lowest in the OECD economies.^[107]

In two interviews in May 2016, Trump suggested that he would "refinance" the U.S. federal debt as a means to relief the debt.^[109][110] He clarified that he would not renegotiate the bonds, but buy them back at a discount.^[109][110]

Trump identifies himself as a "free trader,"^[111] but is identified by others, such as conservative economic writer Stephen Moore, as a protectionist.^[112] Trump's views on trade have upended the traditional Republican policies favoring free trade.^[112][113] Binyamin Appelbaum, reporting for the New York Times, has summarized Trump's proposals as breaking with 200 years of economics orthodoxy.^[114][115] American economic writer Bruce Bartlett writes that Trump's protectionist views have roots in American history,^[116] and Canadian writer Lawrence Solomon describes Trump's position on trade as similar to that as of pre-Reagan Republican presidents, such as Herbert Hoover (who signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act) and Richard Nixon (who ran on a protectionist platform).^[117]

According to the New York Times, since at least the 1980s, Trump has advanced mercantilist views, "describing trade as a zero-sum game in which countries lose by paying for imports."^[114] On the campaign trail in 2015 and 2016, Trump has decried the U.S.-China trade imbalance—calling it "the greatest theft in the history of the world"—and regularly advocates tariffs.^[114] Economists dispute the idea that a trade deficit amounts to a loss or "theft", as a trade deficit is simply the difference between what the United States imports and what it exports to a country.^[118][119] Trump shares some views on trade with Bernie Sanders, at least in the sense that they both are skeptical of free trade.^[120] When asked why the clothes in the Donald J. Trump collection were not made in the United States, Trump answered that "They don't even make this stuff here," a claim found to be false by FactCheck.org.^[121]

Some economists and free-market proponents at groups such as the Institute of Economic Affairs, American Enterprise Institute, Peterson Institute for International Economics, Adam Smith Institute, Cato Institute, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Club for Growth have been harshly critical of Trump's views on trade, viewing them as likely to start trade wars and harm consumers.^{[115][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129][130]} According to economists consulted by the Los Angeles Times, recent U.S. experience with imposing tariffs on goods has had little to no positive impact on the protected industries and harmed consumers through higher prices.^[131]

In a 60 Minutes interview in September 2015, Trump condemned the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying that if elected president, "We will either renegotiate it, or we will break it."^[132][133] A range of trade experts have said that pulling out of NAFTA as Trump proposed would have a range of unintended consequences for the U.S., including reduced access to the U.S.'s biggest export markets, a reduction in economic growth, and increased prices for gasoline, cars, fruits, and vegetables.^[134] The Washington Post fact-checker furthermore noted that a Congressional Research Service review of the academic literature on NAFTA concluded that the "net overall effect of NAFTA on the U.S. economy appears to have been relatively modest, primarily because trade with Canada and Mexico accounts for a small percentage of U.S. GDP."^[119]

In January 2016, Trump proposed a 45 percent tariff on Chinese exports to the United States to give "American workers a level playing field."^[111][114] Trump has vowed to label China as a currency manipulator on his first day in office.^[113] Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler, citing experts such as C. Fred Bergsten, found that "Trump's complaints about currency manipulation are woefully out of date," noting that "China has not manipulated its currency for at least two years."^[135]

Trump has pledged "swift, robust and unequivocal" action against Chinese piracy, counterfeit American goods, and theft of U.S. trade secrets and intellectual property; and has condemned China's "illegal export subsidies and lax labor and environmental standards."^[113] When asked about potential Chinese retaliation to the implementation of tariffs, such as sales of US bonds, Trump deemed the Chinese unlikely to retaliate, "They will crash their economy... They will have a depression, the likes of which you have never seen if they ever did that."^[136] In a May 2016 speech, Trump responded to concerns regarding a potential trade war with "We're losing $500 billion in trade with China. Who the hell cares if there's a trade war?"^[137]

Trump has vowed to impose tariffs — in the range of 15 to 35 percent — on companies that move their operations to Mexico.^[138] He has specifically criticized the Ford Motor Co.,^[114] Carrier Corporation,^[114] and Mondelez International.^{[114][138][139]} Trump has pledged a 35% tariff on "every car, every truck and every part manufactured in [Ford's Mexico plant] that comes across the border."^[115] Tariffs at that level would be far higher than the international norms (which are around 2.67 percent for the U.S. and most other advanced economies and under 10 percent for most developing countries).^[123] In August 2015, in response to Oreo maker Mondelez International's announcement that it would move manufacturing to Mexico, Trump said that he would boycott Oreos.^[139]

According to economic experts canvassed by PolitiFact, the tariffs could help create new manufacturing jobs and lead to some concessions from the US's foreign trading partners, but consumer costs and production costs would almost certainly rise, the stock market would fall, interest rates could rise, and trade wars could occur.^[140] PolitiFact noted that lower-income consumers in the United States would be hurt the most.^[140]

When announcing his candidacy in June 2015, Trump said that his experience as a negotiator in private business would enhance his ability to negotiate better international trade deals as President, saying "[America] used to have victories, but we don't have them. When was the last time anybody saw us beating, let's say, China in a trade deal? They kill us. I beat China all the time."^[141] Trump has said: "Free trade's only good if you have smart representatives. It's not good if we have dummies."^[120] Trump opposes the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying "The deal is insanity. That deal should not be supported and it should not be allowed to happen ... We are giving away what ultimately is going to be a back door for China."^[142] Trump has asserted that the TPP will "be even worse than... NAFTA... We will lose jobs, we will lose employment, we will lose taxes, we will lose everything. We will lose our country.".^[143]

Trump has called the World Trade Organization (WTO) a "disaster".^[144] When informed that tariffs in the range of 15 to 35 percent would be contrary to the rules of the WTO, answered "even better. Then we're going to renegotiate or we're going to pull out."^[138]

Illegal immigration is a signature issue of Trump's presidential campaign, and his proposed reforms and controversial remarks about this issue have generated headlines.^[9] Trump has also expressed support for a variety of "limits on legal immigration and guest-worker visas,"^[9][145] including a "pause" on granting green cards, which Trump says will "allow record immigration levels to subside to more moderate historical averages."^{[146][147][148]} Trump's proposals regarding H-1B visas have frequently changed throughout his presidential campaign, but as of late July 2016, he appears to oppose to the H-1B visa program.^[106]

Trump has questioned official (and widely accepted) estimates of the number of illegal immigrants in the United States (between 11 and 12 million), asserting that the number is actually between 30 and 34 million.^[149] PolitiFact ruled that his statement was "Pants on Fire," citing experts who noted that no evidence supported an estimate in that range.^[149]

Trump opposes birthright citizenship (the legal principle set forth by the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution that all persons born on U.S. soil are citizens). Trump has asserted that the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to children of illegal immigrants (whom Trump refers to as "anchor babies").^[150][151] The mainstream view of the Fourteenth Amendment among legal experts is that everyone born on U.S. soil, regardless of parents' citizenship, is automatically an American citizen. Trump's view "is held by only a handful of legal scholars." However the issue is not considered completely settled, since the amendment does not discuss illegal immigration and the matter has not been addressed by the Supreme Court^[151]

Trump has emphasized U.S. border security and illegal immigration to the United States as a campaign issue.^[152][153] During his announcement speech he stated in part, "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems.... They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."^[154] On July 6, 2015, Trump issued a written statement^[155] to clarify his position on illegal immigration which drew a reaction from critics. It read in part:

The Mexican Government is forcing their most unwanted people into the United States. They are, in many cases, criminals, drug dealers, rapists, etc. This was evident just this week when, as an example, a young woman in San Francisco was viciously killed by a 5-time deported Mexican with a long criminal record, who was forced back into the United States because they didn’t want him in Mexico. This is merely one of thousands of similar incidents throughout the United States. In other words, the worst elements in Mexico are being pushed into the United States by the Mexican government. The largest suppliers of heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs are Mexican cartels that arrange to have Mexican immigrants trying to cross the borders and smuggle in the drugs. The Border Patrol knows this. Likewise, tremendous infectious disease is pouring across the border. The United States has become a dumping ground for Mexico and, in fact, for many other parts of the world. On the other hand, many fabulous people come in from Mexico and our country is better for it. But these people are here legally, and are severely hurt by those coming in illegally. I am proud to say that I know many hard working Mexicans—many of them are working for and with me...and, just like our country, my organization is better for it."^[156]

A study published in Social Science Quarterly in May 2016 tested Trump's claim that immigrants are responsible for higher levels of violent and drug-related crime in the United States.^[157] It found no evidence that links Mexican or undocumented Mexican immigrants specifically to violent or drug-related crime.^[157] It did however find a small but significant association between undocumented immigrant populations (including non-Mexican undocumented immigrants) and drug-related arrests.^[157]

In addition to his proposals to construct a border wall (see below), Trump has called for tripling the number of Border Patrol agents.^[158]

In his speech announcing his candidacy, Trump pledged to "build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words."^[141][159] Trump also said "nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I'll build them very inexpensively."^[159] The concept for building a barrier to keep illegal immigrants out of the U.S. is not new; 670 miles of fencing (about one-third of the border) was erected under the Secure Fence Act of 2006, at a cost of $2.4 billion.^[159] Trump said later that his proposed will would be "a real wall. Not a toy wall like we have now."^[160] In his 2015 book, Trump cites the Israeli West Bank barrier as a successful example of a border wall.^[161] "Trump has at times suggested building a wall across the nearly 2,000-mile border and at other times indicated more selective placement."^[162]

John Cassidy of the New Yorker wrote that Trump is "the latest representative of an anti-immigrant, nativist American tradition that dates back at least to the Know-Nothings" of the 1840s and 1850s.^[163] Trump says that "it was legal immigrants who made America great",^[164] that the Latinos who have worked for him have been "unbelievable people", and that he wants a wall between the U.S. and Mexico to have a "big, beautiful door" for people to come legally and feel welcomed in the United States.^[165]

According to experts and analyses, the actual cost to construct a wall along the remaining 1,300 miles of the border could be as high as $16 million per mile, with a total cost of up to $25 billion, with the cost of private land acquisitions and fence maintenance pushing up the total cost further.^[162] Maintenance of the wall cost could up to $750 million a year, and if the Border Patrol agents were to patrol the wall, additional funds would have to be expended.^[162] Rough and remote terrain on many parts of the border, such as deserts and mountains, would make construction and maintenance of a wall expensive, and such terrain may be a greater deterrent than a wall in any case.^[162] Experts also note that on federally protected wilderness areas and Native American reservations, the Department of Homeland Security may have only limited construction authority, and a wall could cause environmental damage.^[162]

Critics of Trump's plan question whether a wall would be effective at stopping unauthorized crossings, noting that walls are of limited use unless they are patrolled by agents and to intercept those climbing over or tunneling under the wall.^[162] Experts also note that approximately half of illegal immigrants in the U.S. did not surreptitiously enter, but rather "entered through official crossing points, either by overstaying visas, using fraudulent documents, or being smuggled past the border."^[162]

Trump has proposed the mass deportation of illegal immigrants.^{[166][167][168]} During his first town hall campaign meeting in Derry, New Hampshire, Trump said that if he were to win the election, then on "[d]ay 1 of my presidency, illegal immigrants are getting out and getting out fast."^[169]

Trump has proposed a "Deportation Force" to carry out this plan, modeled after the 1950s-era "Operation Wetback" program during the Eisenhower administration.^[168][170] Historian Mae Ngai of Columbia University, who has studied the program, has said that the military-style operation was both inhumane and ineffective.^[168][170] The Eisenhower-era program was ended following a congressional investigation.^[170] Trump has said of his proposal: "We would do it in a very humane way."^[167]

According to analysts, Trump's mass-deportation plan would encounter legal and logistical difficulties, since U.S. immigration courts already face large backlogs.^[167] Such a program would also impose a fiscal cost; the fiscally conservative American Action Forum policy group estimates that deporting every illegal immigrant would cause a slump of $381.5 billion to $623.2 billion in private sector output, amounting to roughly a loss of 2% of U.S. GDP.^[171] Doug Holtz-Eakin, the group's president, has said that the mass deportation of 11 million people would "harm the economy in ways it would normally not be harmed."^[167]

In June 2016, Trump stated on Twitter that "I have never liked the media term 'mass deportation' -- but we must enforce the laws of the land!"^[172][173] Later in June, Trump stated that he would not characterize his immigration policies as including "mass deportations."^[174]

Trump's proposal to ban Muslim immigration to the United States has taken on frequently changes throughout his presidential campaign.^[106] As of late July 2016, NBC News summarized his position as "Ban all Muslims, and maybe other people from countries with a history of terrorism, but just don't say "Muslims.""^[106] Trump proposed temporary ban on foreign Muslims entering the United States (approximately 100,000 Muslim immigrants are admitted to the U.S. each year)^[175] "until we can figure out what's going on" in December 2015.^{[176][177][178][179]} In response to the 2015 San Bernardino shooting, Trump released a statement on "Preventing Muslim Immigration" and called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on."^[180] Trump clarified how this would work in an interview with Willie Geist on in December 2015:

Geist: "Would airline representatives, customs agents or border guards ask a person's religion?"

Trump: "They would say: 'Are you Muslim?'"

Geist: "And if they said, 'yes,' they would not be allowed in the country?"

Trump: "That's correct."^[181]

Trump cited President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's World War II use of the Alien and Sedition Acts to issue presidential proclamations for rounding up, holding, and deporting Japanese, German, and Italian alien immigrants, then argued that Roosevelt was highly respected and had highways named after him.^{[182][183][184][185]} Trump stated that he did not agree with Roosevelt's internment of Japanese Americans, and clarified that the proposal would not apply to Muslims who were U.S. citizens or to Muslims who were serving in the U.S. military.^[186] He later clarified that Muslims who were U.S. citizens or serving in the U.S. military would be let back into the United States.^[187] The measure proposed by Trump would be temporary,^[177] until better screening methods are devised,^[178] although the proposal has also been phrased in more controversial ways.^[179]

In May 2016, Trump retreated slightly from his call for a Muslim ban, calling it "merely an idea, not a proposal."^[188] On 13 June 2016, he reformulated the ban so that it would be geographical, not religious, applying to “areas of the world where there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe or our allies.”^[188] Two hours later, he claimed that ban was only for nations “tied to Islamic terror.”^[188] In June 2016, he also stated that he would allow Muslims from allies like the United Kingdom to enter the United States.^[188] In May 2016, Trump said "There will always be exceptions" to the ban, when asked how the ban would apply to London's newly elected mayor Sadiq Khan.^[189] A Khan spokesman said in response that Trump's views were "ignorant, divisive and dangerous" and play into the hands of extremists.^[190]

In June 2016, Trump expanded his proposed ban on Muslim immigration to the United States to also encompassing immigration from areas with a history of terrorism.^[191] Specifically, Trump stated, "When I am elected, I will suspend immigration from areas of the world when there is a proven history of terrorism against the United States, Europe, or our allies, until we understand how to end these threats."^[191] According to lawyers and legal scholars cited in a New York Times report, the president has the power to carry out the plan but it would take an ambitious and likely time-consuming bureaucratic effort, and make sweeping use of executive authority.^[192] Immigration analysts also noted that the implementation of Trump's plan could "prompt a wave of retaliation against American citizens traveling and living abroad."^[192] In July 2016, he described his proposal as encompassing “any nation that has been compromised by terrorism.”^[193]

When asked in July 2016 about his proposal to restrict immigration from areas with high levels of terrorism, Trump insisted that it was not a "rollback" of his initial proposal to ban all Muslim immigrants.^[144] He said, "In fact, you could say it's an expansion. I'm looking now at territory."^[144] When asked if his new proposal meant that there would be greater checks on immigration from countries that have been compromised by terrorism, such as France, Germany and Spain, Trump answered, "It's their own fault, because they've allowed people over years to come into their territory."^[194][195]

Trump has proposed making it more difficult for asylum-seekers and refugees to enter the United States, and making the e-Verify system mandatory for employers.^[158]

Trump has on several occasions expressed opposition to allowing Syrian refugees into the U.S.—saying they could be the "ultimate Trojan horse"^[196]—and has proposed deporting back to Syria refugees settled in the U.S.^[197][198] By September 2015, Trump had expressed support for taking in some Syrian refugees^[197][199] and praised Germany's decision to take in Syrian refugees.^[200]

On a number of occasions in 2015, Trump asserted that "If you're from Syria and you're a Christian, you cannot come into this country, and they're the ones that are being decimated. If you are Islamic ... it's hard to believe, you can come in so easily." PolitiFact rated Trump's claim as "false" and found it to be "wrong on its face," citing the fact that 3 percent of the refugees from Syria have been Christian (although they represent 10 percent of the Syrian population) and finding that the US government is not discriminating against Christians as a matter of official policy.^[201]

In May 2016 interview with Bill O'Reilly, Trump stated "Look, we are at war with these people and they don't wear uniforms. … This is a war against people that are vicious, violent people, that we have no idea who they are, where they come from. We are allowing tens of thousands of them into our country now." Politifact ruled this statement "pants on fire", stating that the U.S. is on track to accept 100,000 refugees in 2017, but there is no evidence that tens of thousands of them are terrorists.^[202]

Trump's views on abortion have changed significantly between 1999 and his 2016 presidential campaign.^{[203][204][205]} In an October 24, 1999 appearance on Meet the Press, Trump said "I am very pro-choice" and "I believe in choice."^[206] He said that he hated the "concept of abortion," but would not ban abortion or the procedure sometimes called "partial-birth abortion."^[206] Later that year, Trump gave interviews stating "I'm totally pro-choice" and "I want to see the abortion issue removed from politics. I believe it is a personal decision that should be left to the women and their doctors."^[203]

While campaigning for the presidency in 2016, Trump stated "I'm pro-life and I've been pro-life a long time" and acknowledged that he had "evolved" on the issue.^[204] CNN reported that Trump "dodged questions testing the specificity of those views."^[204] In August 2015, Trump said that he supported a government shutdown over federal funding for Planned Parenthood (which receives federal funding for the health services it provides to 2.7 million people annually, but is barred by federal law from using federal funds for abortion-related procedures).^[207] In March 2016, Trump said that Planned Parenthood should not be funded "as long as you have the abortion going on," but acknowledged that "Planned Parenthood has done very good work for many, many -- for millions of women."^[208] Planned Parenthood said in a statement that "Trump presidency would be a disaster for women" and criticized Trump's claim that "he'd be great for women while in the same breath pledging to block them from accessing care at Planned Parenthood."^[208]

In an interview later that month, Trump acknowledged that there must be "some form" of punishment for women if abortion were made illegal in the U.S. Trump issued a statement later that day reversing his position from earlier by saying, "the doctor or any other person performing this illegal act upon a woman would be held legally responsible, not the woman."^{[209][210][211]} Trump has said that abortion should be legal in cases involving "rape, incest or the life of the mother being at risk."^[205]

In May 2016, when asked if he would appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade, Trump stated: "Well, they'll be pro-life. And we'll see about overturning, but I will appoint judges that will be pro-life." In the same interview, Trump stated of the anti-abortion cause: "I will protect it, and the biggest way you can protect is through the Supreme Court."^[212] The Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group, praised Trump's list of potential Supreme Court nominees as "exceptionally strong," while the abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America called the candidates on the list "a woman's worst nightmare."^[213]

Trump has on several occasions suggested that Christians are being discriminated against, for instance, stating that "Christianity is under tremendous siege."^[214] He has vowed to end an IRS rule that prohibits tax-exempted non-profits from campaigning on behalf of candidates, believing the rule undermines Christian influence in US politics: "we have more Christians than we have men or women in our country and we don’t have a lobby because they’re afraid to have a lobby because they don’t want to lose their tax status... So I am going to work like hell to get rid of that prohibition and we’re going to have the strongest Christian lobby and it’s going to happen."^[215][216] Trump has suggested that he is being audited by the IRS "maybe because of the fact that I'm a strong Christian."^[217] He has suggested that he would have an easier time getting a ban on Christian immigrants passed than one on Muslims.^[214]

Trump has been critical of department stores that do not greet their customers with "merry Christmas" anymore, stating that things will change if he gets elected president: "I'll tell you one thing: I get elected president, we're going to be saying 'merry Christmas' again. Just remember that."^[214]

Trump has called for police to arrest those who protest at his rallies, saying that fear of an "arrest mark" that would "ruin the rest of their lives" would be a deterrent and that then "we're not going to have any more protesters, folks."^[218] Geoffrey R. Stone, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, notes that opponents and disruptive individuals may be removed from Trump rallies consistent with the First Amendment, but opponents have a First Amendment right to protest Trump outside the venue.^[219] Stone writes that it is unclear whether it would be consistent with the First Amendment for Trump to "order the removal of those who oppose his candidacy from his political rallies if he does not announce in advance that they are open only to his supporters," noting that the answer to this question depends not on the First Amendment, but on the nature of open invitations in the law of trespass.^[219]

Trump has said that if elected, he would loosen defamation laws so that when journalists write "purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money." The Associated Press reported that this proposal to weaken the First Amendment protections for the press is at odds with "widely held conceptions of constitutional law." The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and other First Amendment advocates condemned Trump's proposal, which would make it easier to win lawsuits accusing newspapers of libel.^[220]

On the campaign trail in 2015 and 2016, Trump has frequently "railed against" the press, referring to the media as "the most dishonest people" and "absolute scum."^[221] The Trump campaign has barred reporters (from Politico, The New York Times, The Des Moines Register, The Huffington Post, and Univision, among others) from its campaign events, "often in the wake of critical coverage."^[221]

LGBT anti-discrimination laws

In a February 2000 interview with The Advocate, Trump said he supported amending the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to include the category of sexual orientation and supported federal hate crime legislation that would cover sexual orientation.^[222]

Trump has offered qualified support for the First Amendment Defense Act, which aims to protect those who oppose same-sex marriage based on their religious beliefs from action by the federal government, such as revocation of tax-exempt status, grants, loans, benefits, or employment.^[223] Trump said, "If Congress considers the First Amendment Defense Act a priority, then I will do all I can to make sure it comes to my desk for signatures and enactment."^[224][225]

In July 2016, Trump expressed support for the North Carolina House Bill 2 that eliminates anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, and legislates that in government buildings, individuals may only use restrooms and changing facilities that correspond to the sex on their birth certificates.^[226][227] Trump said, "The state, they know what’s going on, they see what’s happening and generally speaking I’m with the state on things like this. I’ve spoken with your governor, I’ve spoken with a lot of people and I’m going with the state.”^[226][227] The bill is controversial because it prevents transgender people who do not or cannot alter their birth certificates from using the restroom consistent with their gender identity.^{[228][229][230][231]} In April 2016, Trump criticized the bill, saying: "North Carolina did something that was very strong and they're paying a big price. ... You leave it the way it is. There have been very few complaints the way it is. People go, they use the bathroom they feel is appropriate, there has been so little trouble, and the problem with what happened in North Carolina is the strife, and the economic punishment that they're taking."^[232][233] Trump stated: "I fully understand if they [North Carolina] want to go through, but they are losing business and they are having a lot of people come out against."^[234] Later that April, Trump took the position that states have the right to enact such legislation and that the federal government should not become involved.^[227] He did not express an opinion on whether the law was right or wrong.^[234]

LGBT hate crime laws

In a February 2000 interview with The Advocate, Trump stated in response to the murder of Matthew Shepard and James Byrd that he wanted a more "tolerant society" and he would "absolutely" support hate crime legislation on the basis of their race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.^[235]

In his acceptance speech at the 2016 Republican National Convention on July 21, Trump became the first Republican nominee to mention the LGBT community, and vowed to protect them from the threat of radical Islamic terrorism in the wake of the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, saying: "As your president, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology."^[236]

LGBT military service

In an October 1999 appearance on Meet the Press, Trump said gays openly serving in the military was "not something that would disturb me."^[206]

Log Cabin Republicans

In 2015, Gregory T. Angelo, the president of the Log Cabin Republicans,^[237] had described Trump as "one of the best, if not the best, pro-gay Republican candidates to ever run for the presidency."^[238] The group has since questioned his LGBT support, releasing a video portraying him as inconsistent on gay marriage.^[239] Jamie Ensley, national board chair of the Log Cabin Republicans, endorsed Donald Trump for president.^[240]

Same-sex marriage

Trump has stated that he supports "traditional marriage"^[241] and opposes same-sex marriage.^[242] Since at least 2000, Trump has said that "he believes that marriage is between a man and a woman."^[243] Trump has not emphasized the issue, however,^[243][244] and has at times given ambiguous comments.^[244]

In June 2015, when asked about the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling, he said: "I would have preferred states, you know, making the decision and I let that be known. But they made the decision. ... So, at a certain point you have to be realistic about it."^[245] Later, in the run up to the Iowa caucuses on February 1, 2016, Trump stated that if elected he would strongly consider appointing Supreme Court justices that would overturn Obergefell v. Hodges.^{[246][246][247]} When asked if gay couples should be able access the same benefits as married couples, Trump said that his "attitude on it has not been fully formed."^[248] The Advocate, an American LGBT-interest magazine, characterized Trump's Supreme Court picks as "LGBT-unfriendly", noting that "not all have ruled in LGBT rights cases, but those who have are largely unsympathetic, and some have the backing of anti-LGBT activists."^[249]

Trump signed a pledge in July 2016 that he would work to combat both legal pornography and illegal pornography, such as child pornography.^[250] In the pledge, he promised to "give serious consideration to appointing a Presidential Commission to examine the harmful public health impact of Internet pornography on youth, families and the American culture and the prevention of the sexual exploitation of children in the digital age."^[250]

Trump has criticized the Black Lives Matter movement and accuses President Obama of "dividing America."^[251] Trump has said that if elected president, he might have Attorney General look into the Black Lives Matter movement.^[252] When asked if he believes there to be a racial divide in America, Trump answered, "Sadly, there would seem to be...and it's probably not been much worse at any time."^[253] When asked if he believes police treat African Americans differently than whites, Trump answered, "It could be."^[253] Trump describes the police killings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile as "tough to watch" and criticized the "terrible, disgusting performance" by police.^[251] Trump said that he could relate to the systemic bias African Americans faced against whites, saying, "even against me the system is rigged when I ran ... for president." When asked if he could understand the experience of being African American, Trump replied, "I would like to say yes, but you really can't unless you are African American. You can't truly understand what's going on unless you are African American. I would like to say yes, however."^[254]

On November 19, 2015, a week after the November 2015 Paris attacks, when asked if he would implement a database system to track Muslims in the United States, Trump said: "I would certainly implement that. Absolutely. There should be a lot of systems, beyond databases. We should have a lot of systems."^[255] On November 21, Trump expanded on his stance, saying that he would order "surveillance of certain mosques" to combat "Islamic extremism" after the Paris attacks.^[256][257] Trump's support for a database of American Muslims "drew sharp rebukes from his Republican presidential rivals and disbelief from legal experts."^[258] Trump justified his proposals by repeatedly saying that he recalled "thousands and thousands of people ... cheering" in Jersey City, New Jersey, when the World Trade Center towers fell on September 11, 2001.^[257][259] PolitiFact noted that this statement was false, giving it a "Pants on Fire" rating and reporting that it was based on debunked and unproven rumors.^{[258][260][261]} Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop called Trump's claim "absurd" and said that Trump "has memory issues or willfully distorts the truth."^[262]

On National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance, Trump says that he "tends to err on the side of security" over privacy. Trump supports bringing back now-expired provisions of the Patriot Act to allow for the NSA to collect and store bulk telephone metadata.^[263][264] Trump said: "I assume that when I pick up my telephone, people are listening to my conversations anyway."^[264]

In February 2016, Trump urged his supporters to boycott Apple Inc. unless the company agrees to build a custom backdoor for the FBI to unlock the password-protected iPhone connected to one of the perpetrators of the 2015 San Bernardino shooting, a move that Apple argues would threaten the security and privacy of its users.^[265] Trump himself still uses his iPhone to send out tweets.^[266]

Trump has asserted that America's "voting system is out of control," alleging that "you have people, in my opinion, that are voting many, many times," even though the number of cases of voter fraud in the U.S. is minuscule.^[267]

Trump opposes same-day voter registration, alleging that this allows non-citizens vote in U.S. elections and that voting laws should prevent people from "[sneaking] in through the cracks."^[268] PolitiFact ruled Trump's claim about voter fraud false, noting that according to experts, "there is no additional risk of noncitizens casting ballots in states with same-day voter registration, nor is there any evidence that this occurs."^[268]

Trump has claimed that "dead people voted for President Obama" and that "dead voters... helped get President Obama elected."^{[269][270][271]} On election night 2012, Trump expressed skepticism about Obama's victory, saying, among other things, "This election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!"^{[272][273][274]}

In August 2015, Trump said he would support women in combat rules "because they're really into it and some of them are really, really good."^[275] In 2013, Trump had questioned the wisdom of allowing women to serve, linking gender-integrated forces with higher rates of sexual assault "26,000 unreported sexual assults in the military-only 238 convictions. What did these geniuses expect when they put men & women together?"^{[276][277][278][279][280][281]} In 2014, Trump stated that it was "bedlam" to bring women into the army.^[279]

Trump has provided "little detail regarding his positions on disability-related policies," and his campaign website makes no mention of people with disabilities.^[282] Unlike Hillary Clinton and other presidential candidates, Trump has not responded to the issue questionnaire of the nonpartisan disability group RespectAbility.^[282] Trump attracted criticism for mocking the physical disability of New York Times investigative reporter Serge Kovaleski, who suffers from arthrogryposis.^[283]

While Trump has repeatedly expressed support for "the idea of campaign finance reform,"^[284][285] he has not outlined specifics of his actual views on campaign-finance regulation.^{[284][286][287]} For example, Trump has not said whether he favors public financing of elections or caps on expenditures of campaigns, outside groups, and individuals.^[284]

During the Republican primary race, Trump on several occasions accused his Republican opponents of being bound to their campaign financiers, and asserted that anyone (including Trump himself) could buy their policies with donations.^[288] He called super PACs a "scam" and "a horrible thing".^[284][289] In October 2015, he said, "All Presidential candidates should immediately disavow their Super PAC’s. They’re not only breaking the spirit of the law but the law itself."^[290]

Having previously touted the self-funding of his campaign as a sign of his independence from the political establishment and big donors, Trump reversed course and started to fundraise in early May 2016.^{[291][292][293]} While Trump systematically disavowed pro-Trump super PACs earlier in the race, he has not done so since early May 2016.^[290]

Trump has long advocated for capital punishment in the United States.^[294] In May 1989, shortly after the Central Park jogger case received widespread media attention, Trump purchased a full-page ad in four New York City newspapers with the title "BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY!" Five defendants (the "Central Park Five") were wrongfully convicted in the case and were subsequently exonerated.^{[294][295][296][297]}

In December 2015, in a speech accepting the endorsement of the New England Police Benevolent Association, Trump said that "One of the first things I do [if elected President] in terms of executive order if I win will be to sign a strong, strong statement that will go out to the country, out to the world, that ... anybody killing a police officer—death penalty. It's going to happen, O.K.?"^{[298][299][300][301]}

This is impossible under the U.S. legal system, however, because persons prosecuted in state court (the vast majority of capital prosecutions in the United States) are sentenced under state law; the president has no authority to control such prosecutions.^[294][302] Moreover, nearly 20 states have abolished the death penalty, and mandatory death sentences are unconstitutional, as held by the Supreme Court in Woodson v. North Carolina (1976).^[294][302]

According to Chris Christie, who leads Trump's White House transition team, Donald Trump would, if elected President, seek to purge the federal government of officials appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama and could ask Congress to pass legislation making it easier to fire public workers.^[303]

As of May 2016, Trump's campaign website makes no mention of criminal justice reform, and Trump rarely talks specifics.^[304][305] Trump has stated that he would be "tough on crime" and criticized Barack Obama's and Hillary Clinton's criminal justice reform proposals.^[306] When asked about specific criminal justice reforms, Trump reportedly often changes the subject back to supporting police or vague answers about needing to be "tough."^[305] In January 2016, Trump said that along with veterans, "the most mistreated people in this country are police."^[307]

Trump supports the use of "stop and frisk" tactics, of the kind once used in New York City.^[308] In 2000, Trump also rejected as elitist and naive the arguments of criminal justice reformers that the U.S. criminal justice system puts too many criminals in jail.^[304] Trump is in favor of at least one mandatory sentence, where using a gun to commit a crime results in a five-year sentence.^[305][309]

Trump has on several occasions asserted that crime is rising in the United States.^[304][310] Trump's assertion that crime is rising is false; in fact, both violent crime and property crime have been consistently declining in the U.S. since the early 1990s.^[311]

In May 2016, Trump stated that the cities of Oakland and Ferguson are "among the most dangerous in the world".^[312] In response, CBS News in San Francisco reported that the murder rates in Oakland and Baghdad are comparable,^[313] but PolitiFact rated Trump's claim false given that "homicide rates alone are not enough to gauge whether a city is dangerous or not".^[314]

On November 22, 2015, Trump retweeted a graphic with purported statistics—cited to a nonexistent group—which claimed that African Americans were responsible for 81% of the homicides of White Americans and that police were responsible for 1% of black homicides compared to 4% of white homicides. Trump's retweet earned PolitiFact's "Pants on Fire" rating and was called "grossly inaccurate" by FactCheck.org the next day.^[315][316] PolitiFact wrote: "Trump cast blacks as the primary killers of whites, but the exact opposite is true." Blacks were responsible for 15% of white homicides according to FBI data for 2014.^[315] The breakdown of the racial differences in police killings in Trump's retweet was also inaccurate. Based on the percentages, the number of whites killed by police would be almost 4 times greater than the number of blacks. Data from the Washington Post for 2009 to 2013 showed a ratio of 1.5 white deaths by police for each black death.^[315] A separate estimate by Peter Moskos, associate professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice attributed 10% of white homicides to police and 4% to police for blacks.^[316] When asked about the statistics, Trump maintained that the statistics came "from sources that are very credible."^[316]

In August 2015, Trump said that if he were president, he would consider the possibility of statehood for the District of Columbia, and would favor "whatever's best for them."^[317] In an interview with the Washington Post in March 2016, Trump said that though he didn't yet have a position on statehood, it would be something that "I don’t think I’d be inclined to do". He also said that "having representation would be okay".^[318]

Trump's views on drug policy have shifted dramatically over time.^[319]

At a luncheon hosted by the Miami Herald in April 1990, Trump told a crowd of 700 people that U.S. drug enforcement policy was a "a joke," and that: "We're losing badly the war on drugs. You have to legalize drugs to win that war. You have to take the profit away from these drug czars."^[320][321]

In his campaign for the presidency in 2015 and 2016, however, Trump adopted "drug warrior" positions^[320] and has sought advice on the issue from William J. Bennett, who served as the U.S. first "drug czar" in the 1980s "and has remained a proponent of harsh 1980s-style drug war tactics."^[322] Trump told Sean Hannity in June 2015 that he opposes marijuana legalization and that "I feel strongly about that."^[320] Trump also claims to have personally never used controlled substances of any kind.^[320]

Trump has voiced support for medical marijuana,^[320] saying that he is "a hundred percent in favor" because "I know people that have serious problems... and... it really, really does help them."^[323] When asked about Colorado (where recreational use of marijuana is legal), Trump softened his previously expressed views and essentially said that states should be able to decide on whether marijuana for recreational purposes should be legal.^[320][324]

In 2014, after a New York physician returned from treating Ebola patients in West Africa and showed symptoms of the disease, Trump tweeted that if the doctor had Ebola, "Obama should apologize to the American people & resign!"^[325] When the doctor was later confirmed to have developed ebola in New York, Trump tweeted that it was "Obama's fault" and "I have been saying for weeks for President Obama to stop the flights from West Africa. So simple, but he refused. A TOTAL incompetent!"^[326] Trump also criticized President Obama's decision to send 3,000 U.S. troops to affected regions to help combat the outbreak (see Operation United Assistance).^[327]

As Dr. Kent Brantly returned to the U.S. for treatment, Trump tweeted that U.S. doctors who went abroad to treat Ebola were "great" but "must suffer the consequences" if they became infected and insisted that "the U.S. must immediately stop all flights from EBOLA infected countries or the plague will start and spread inside our 'borders.'"^[328] When an Ebola patient was scheduled to come to the U.S. for treatment, Trump tweeted, "now I know for sure that our leaders are incompetent. KEEP THEM OUT OF HERE!"^[329]

Trump's suggestion on the ebola crisis "would go against all the expert advice being offered," with doctors warning "that isolating West Africa would only make the Ebola outbreak much worse, potentially denying help and supplies from getting in," and possibly destablizing the countries and contributing to the disease's spread outside West Africa.^[327]

Trump has stated his support for school choice and local control for primary and secondary schools. On school choice he's commented, "Our public schools are capable of providing a more competitive product than they do today. Look at some of the high school tests from earlier in this century and you’ll wonder if they weren't college-level tests. And we’ve got to bring on the competition—open the schoolhouse doors and let parents choose the best school for their children. Education reformers call this school choice, charter schools, vouchers, even opportunity scholarships. I call it competition—the American way."^[330]

Trump has blasted the Common Core State Standards Initiative, calling it a "total disaster".^[331][332] Trump has asserted that Common Core is "education through Washington D.C.", a claim which Politifact and other journalists have rated "false", since the adoption and implementation of Common Core is a state choice, not a federal one.^[331][332]

Trump has stated that Ben Carson will be "very much involved in education" under a Trump presidency.^[333] Carson rejects the theory of evolution, believes that "home-schoolers do the best, private schoolers next best, charter schoolers next best, and public schoolers worst", and wants to "take the federal bureaucracy out of education."^[334]

Trump has called eminent domain "wonderful" and repeatedly asked the government to invoke it on his behalf during past development projects.^[335][336]

In October 2015, Trump stated that “you have to be careful with” paid family leave as it could impact keeping "our country very competitive".^[337]

According to the Chicago Tribune, Trump has not addressed the gender pay gap in his 2016 presidential bid (as of July 2016).^[44] According to the Tribune, "Trump's past statements on women in the workplace have included calling pregnancy "an inconvenience" and telling a voter in New Hampshire last year that women will receive the same pay as men "if they do as good a job.""^[44]

In his 2000 book The America We Deserve, Trump wrote that he generally opposed gun control, but supported the ban on assault weapons and supported a "slightly longer waiting period to purchase a gun."^{[338][339][340][341]} In his book, Trump also criticized the gun lobby, saying: "The Republicans walk the N.R.A. line and refuse even limited restrictions."^[341] In 2008, Trump opposed hunting-education classes in schools and called the "thought of voluntarily putting guns in the classroom... a really bad plan."^[342]

Trump has since reversed some of his positions on gun issues, and while campaigning for the presidency in 2015 and 2016 has called for the expansion of gun rights.^[341] Trump has proposed eliminating prohibitions on assault weapons, military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines (which Trump described as "scary sounding phrases" used by gun control advocates "to confuse people"), as well as making concealed carry permits valid nationwide, rather than on the current state-to-state basis.^[338] Trump has said that concealed carry "is a right, not a privilege."^[338] He has called for an overhaul of the current federal background check system, arguing that "Too many states are failing to put criminal and mental health records into the system."^[338][343]

On the campaign trail, Trump has praised the National Rifle Association (NRA),^[344] and received the group's endorsement after becoming the presumptive Republican nominee.^[345] Trump has described himself as a staunch advocate of the Second Amendment.^[339][346] Trump has asserted that the presence of more guns in schools and public places could have stopped mass shootings such as those in Paris, San Bernardino, California, and Umpqua Community College.^[344][347] In June 2016, Trump stated that, "it would have been a beautiful, beautiful sight" to see Omar Mateen shot in the head by an armed patron in the Pulse nightclub shooting, reiterating his stance that more people should be armed in public places.^[348] A few days later, after two top officials of the NRA challenged the notion that drinking clubgoers should be armed, Trump reversed his position, saying that he "obviously" meant that additional guards or employees should have been armed in the nightclub.^[349][350]

In January 2016, Trump said: "I will get rid of gun-free zones on schools, and — you have to — and on military bases... My first day, it gets signed, okay? My first day. There's no more gun-free zones."^[351] Trump could not eliminate gun-free school zones by executive order, however, since such zones were created by a federal law that can only be reversed by Congress.^[341] In May 2016, Trump made ambiguous comments on guns in classrooms, saying: "I don't want to have guns in classrooms. Although, in some cases, teachers should have guns in classrooms."^[352] In May 2016, Trump accused Hillary Clinton of lying when she claimed that "Donald Trump would force schools to allow guns in classrooms on his first day in office."^[353] According to the Washington Post fact-checker, Clinton's statement was accurate.^[354]

Trump supports barring people on the government's terrorist watch list from purchasing weapons, saying in 2015: "If somebody is on a watch list and an enemy of state and we know it's an enemy of state, I would keep them away, absolutely."^[341] This is one position where Trump departs from the position of gun-rights groups and most of his Republican rivals for the presidency and supports a stance backed by Senate Democrats.^[341]

In 2015, Trump said that he holds a New York concealed carry permit^[338][355] and that "I carry on occasion, sometimes a lot. I like to be unpredictable."^[355] A 1987 Associated Press story said that he held a handgun permit at that time.^[338]

Security personnel and other staffers at a number of Trump's hotels and golf courses told ABC News that patrons are not permitted to carry guns on the property. A Trump spokesman denied this, saying that licensed persons are permitted to carry guns on the premises.^[356]

Trump has espoused Barack Obama citizenship ("birther") conspiracy theories over time.^{[357][358][359]}

In March 2011, during an interview on Good Morning America, Trump said he was seriously considering running for president, that he was a "little" skeptical of Obama's citizenship and that someone who shares this view shouldn't be so quickly dismissed as an "idiot." Trump added: "Growing up no one knew him"^[360]—a claim ranked "Pants on Fire" by Politifact.^[361]

Later, Trump appeared on The View repeating several times that "I want him (Obama) to show his birth certificate" and speculating that "there's something on that birth certificate that he doesn't like."^[362] Although officials in Hawaii certified Obama's citizenship, Trump said in April 2011 he would not let go of the issue, because he was not satisfied that Obama had proved his citizenship.^[363]

After Obama released his long-form birth certificate on April 27, 2011, Trump said: "I am really honored and I am really proud, that I was able to do something that nobody else could do."^[364] In May 2012, Trump continued to suggest that Obama might have been born in Kenya.^[365] In October 2012, Trump offered to donate five million dollars to the charity of Obama's choice in return for the publication of his college and passport applications before the end of the month.^[366] When asked in December 2015 if he still questioned Obama's legitimacy, Trump said that "I don't talk about that anymore."^[367]

According to the New York Times, many of Trump's statements on legal topics are "extemporaneous and resist conventional legal analysis," with some appearing "to betray ignorance of fundamental legal concepts."^[20]

Trump has stated that he wants to replace Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court with "a person of similar views and principles".^[368] He has released a list of eleven potential picks to replace Scalia.^[369] The jurists are widely considered to be conservative.^{[369][370][371][372]} All are white, and eight of the eleven are men.^[370] The list includes five out of the eight individuals recommended by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.^[373] Trump had previously insisted that he would seek guidance from conservative groups such as the Federalist Society and the Heritage Foundation when it came to picking Supreme Court candidates.^[370] Several of the judges listed by Trump have questioned abortion rights.^[370] Six of the eleven judges have clerked for conservative Supreme Court justices.^[370]

Trump has claimed that he "would probably appoint" justices to the Supreme Court who "would look very seriously" at the Hillary Clinton email controversy "because it's a criminal activity."^[374] However, under the U.S. Constitution, Supreme Court justices "are neither investigators nor prosecutors."^[20]

Trump has criticized Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, a George W. Bush appointee, as a "nightmare for conservatives," citing Roberts' vote in the June 2015 Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage and in the 2015 decision in King v. Burwell, which upheld provisions of the Affordable Care Act.^[375][376]

In February 2016, Trump called on the Senate to stop Obama from filling the vacant seat on the Supreme Court.^[377]

An analysis by FiveThirtyEight shows that, under the assumption that Scalia's vacant seat on the Court will not be filled and taking account of the old age of three of the sitting justices, that a Trump presidency would move the Supreme Court "rightward toward its most conservative position in recent memory".^[378]

Colman McCarthy of the Washington Post wrote in 1993 that in testimony given that year to the House Natural Resources subcommittee on Native American Affairs, Trump "devoted much of his testimony to bad-mouthing Indians and their casinos," asserted that "organized crime is rampant on Indian reservations" and that "if it continues it will be the biggest scandal ever." Trump offered no evidence in support of his claim, and testimony from the FBI's organized crime division, the Justice Department's criminal division, and the IRS's criminal investigation division did not support Trump's assertion.^[379] Representative George Miller, a Democrat who was the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee at the time, stated: "In my 19 years in Congress, I've never heard more irresponsible testimony."^[379]

Trump bankrolled in 2000 a set of anti-Indian gaming ads in upstate New York that featured "a dark photograph showing hypodermic needles and drug paraphernalia," a warning that "violent criminals were coming to town," and an accusation that the St. Regis Mohawks had a "record of criminal activity."^[380] The ad—aimed at stopping the construction of a casino in the Catskills that might hurt Trump's own Atlantic City casinos^[381]—was viewed as "incendiary" and racially charged, and at the time local tribal leaders, in response, bought a newspaper ad of their own to denounce the "smear" and "racist and inflammatory rhetoric" of the earlier ad.^[380] The ads attracted the attention of the New York Temporary State Commission on Lobbying because they failed to disclose Trump's sponsorship as required by state lobbying rules.^{[380][381][382]} Trump acknowledged that he sponsored the ads and reached a settlement with the state in which he and his associates agreed to issue a public apology and pay $250,000 (the largest civil penalty ever levied by the commission) for evading state disclosure rules.^{[380][381][382]}

In 2015, Trump defended the controversial team name and mascot of the Washington Redskins, saying that the NFL team should not change its name and he did not find the term to be offensive.^[383][384] The "Change the Mascot" campaign, led by the Oneida Indian Nation and National Congress of American Indians, condemned Trump's stance.^[385]

While campaigning in 2016, Trump has repeatedly belittled Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts by calling her "Pocahontas" (a reference to Warren's claim, based on family lore, of Native American ancestry, which she has been unable to document).^[386] Trump's comments were criticized by a number of public figures as racist and inappropriate.^[387][388] Gyasi Ross of the Blackfeet Nation, a Native American activist and author, criticized Trump's "badgering of Elizabeth Warren as 'Pocahontas'" as "simply the continuation of his pattern of racist bullying."^[389]

As of June 2016, Trump has published no tech policy proposals.^[390] On the campaign trail, Trump has frequently antagonized Silicon Valley figures,^[391] using his Twitter account to lambast tech leaders such as Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Tim Cook of Apple, and Brian Chesky of Airbnb over a series of months.^[390]

Trump is opposed to net neutrality, asserting that it is "Obama's attack on the internet" and saying that it "will target the conservative media."^[392]

The tech publication Recode reports that Trump has made no public statements on the issues of patent reform or broadband access.^[391]

The Free Press Action Fund, a group of tech policy activists, rated Trump the worst 2016 presidential candidate for "citizens' digital lives," citing his positions opposing reforming the Patriot Act, favoring Internet censorship, and opposing net neutrality.^[393]

Trump believes that childhood vaccinations are related to autism, a hypothesis which has been repeatedly debunked.^[394][395] The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Autism Speaks patient-advocacy group have "decried Trump's remarks as false and potentially dangerous."^[395]

Trump has been critical of the ways in which veterans are treated in the United States, saying "the vets are horribly treated in this country... they are living in hell."^[396] Trump favors getting rid of backlogs and wait-lists which are the focus of the Veterans Health Administration scandal. He has claimed that "over 300,000 veterans have died waiting for care."^[397] In a statement, he said he believes that Veterans Affairs facilities need to be upgraded with recent technology, hire more veterans to treat other veterans, increase support of female veterans, and create satellite clinics within hospitals in rural areas.^[398] Trump's proposed plan for reforming the U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs includes provisions for allowing veterans to obtain care at any doctor or facility that accepts Medicare, increasing funding for PTSD and suicide prevention services, and providing ob/gyn services at every VA hospital.^[399] Trump's plan calls for greater privatization of veterans’ care.^[400] Trump's plan makes no reference directly to letting veterans get health care outside the VA system but Trump adviser Sam Clovis in May said the candidate was looking into such plans.^[400] The Wall Street Journal notes that "such a plan is counter to recommendations from major veterans groups, the VA itself and from the Commission on Care, an independent body established by Congress that last week made recommendations for VA changes."^[400] Trump's plan calls "for legislation making it easier to fire underperforming employees, increasing mental-health resources and adding a White House hotline so veterans can bypass the VA and bring problems directly to the president."^[400] Trump opposes the current G.I. Bill.^[401][402]

Trump skipped a televised Republican debate in January 2016 to host a rally to raise money for veterans. In early February, the Wall Street Journal reported that many veterans' groups began to get their checks only after the Journal asked the Trump campaign why they had not.^[403] In April, the Journal reported that the funds had yet to be fully distributed.^[404]

Trump caused a stir in July 2015 when he charged that Senator John McCain with having "done nothing to help the vets," a statement ruled false by PolitiFact and the Chicago Tribune^[396][405] Trump added that McCain is "not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured."^[406]

Trump has voiced his opposition to video game violence. After it was reported that the Sandy Hook shooter frequently played violent video games, Trump tweeted, "Video game violence & glorification must be stopped—it is creating monsters!"^[407][408]

Trump has not released plans to combat climate change or how he would approach energy issues.^[409]

In May 2016, Trump asked U.S. Representative Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota—described by Reuters as "one of America's most ardent drilling advocates and climate change skeptics"—to draft Trump's energy policy.^[410][411]

According to Reuters, four sources close to Trump's campaign say that Trump is considering nominating Oklahoma oil and gas mogul Harold Hamm as energy secretary if elected President.^[411] According to Reuters, Hamm would be the first-ever U.S. Secretary of Energy "drawn directly from the oil and gas industry."^[411] Hamm has called for expanded drilling, criticized environmental regulations for limiting oil production, and called for less dependence on Middle Eastern oil producers.^[411]

On May 2016, Trump said that he could solve the water crisis in California.^[412] He declared that "there is no drought," a statement which the Associated Press noted is incorrect.^[412] Trump accused California state officials of denying farmers of water so they can send it out to sea "to protect a certain kind of three-inch fish."^[412] According to the AP, Trump appeared to be referring to a dispute between Central Valley farming interests and environmental interests; California farmers accuse water authorities of short-changing them of the water in their efforts to protect endangered native fish species.^[412]

Trump rejects the scientific consensus on climate change,^[413][414] repeatedly contending that global warming is a "hoax."^[241][415] He has said that "the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive," a statement which Trump later said was a joke.^[416] Trump criticized President Obama's description of climate change as "the greatest threat to future generations" for being "naive" and "one of the dumbest statements I've ever heard."^[417][418] According to a report by the Sierra Club, Trump would, if elected President, be the only head of state in the world to contend that climate change is a hoax.^[419]

Although "not a believer in climate change," Trump has stated that "clean air is a pressing problem" and has said: "You want to have clean air, clean water. That's very important to me."^[420][421]

In May 2016, during his presidential campaign, Trump issued an energy plan focused on promoting fossil fuels and weakening environmental regulation.^[413] Trump promised to "rescind" in his first 100 days in office a variety of Environmental Protection Agency regulations established during the Obama administration to limit carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants, which contribute to a warming global climate.^[413] Trump has specifically pledged to revoke the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the United States rule, which he characterizes as two "job-destroying Obama executive actions."^[422]

Trump has said "we're practically not allowed to use coal any more," a statement rated "mostly false" by PolitiFact.^[423] Trump has criticized the Obama administration's coal policies, describing the administration's moves to phase out the use of coal-fired power plants are "stupid."^[413] Trump has criticized the Obama administration for prohibiting "coal production on federal land" and states that it seeks to adopt "draconian climate rules that, unless stopped, would effectively bypass Congress to impose job-killing cap-and-trade."^[422] Trump has vowed to revive the U.S. coal economy, a pledge that is viewed by experts as unlikely to be fulfilled because the decline of the coal industry is driven by market forces, and specifically by the U.S. natural gas boom.^[413]

Trump wrote in his 2011 book that he opposed a cap-and-trade system to control carbon emissions.^[424]

According to FactCheck.org, over at least a five-year period, Trump has on several occasions made incorrect claims about the use of hair spray and its role in ozone depletion. At a rally in May 2016, "Trump implied that the regulations on hairspray and coal mining are both unwarranted" and incorrectly asserted that hairspray use in a "sealed" apartment prevents the spray's ozone-depleting substances from reaching the atmosphere.^[425]

Trump pledged in his May 2016 speech on energy policy to "cancel the Paris climate agreement"^[413] adopted at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (in which 170 countries committed to reductions in carbon emissions).^[49][413] Trump pledged to cancel the agreement in his first hundred days in office.^[422][426] This pledge followed earlier comments by Trump, in which he said that as president, he would "at a minimum" seek to renegotiate the agreement and "at a maximum I may do something else."^[427] Trump characterizes the Paris Agreement "one-sided" and "bad for the United States,"^[427] believing that the agreement is too favorable to China and other countries.^[49] In his May 2016 speech, Trump inaccurately said that the Paris Agreement "gives foreign bureaucrats control over how much energy we use on our land, in our country"; in fact, the Paris Agreement is based on voluntary government pledges, and no country controls the emissions-reduction plan of any other country.^[413]

Once the agreement is ratified by 55 nations representing 55 percent of global emissions (which has not yet occurred), a four-year waiting period goes into effect for any country wishing to withdraw from the agreement.^[413]

A U.S. move to withdraw from the Paris Agreement as Trump proposes is viewed as likely to unravel the agreement;^[413] according to Reuters, such a move would spell "potential doom for an agreement many view as a last chance to turn the tide on global warming."^[427]

In Trump's May 2016 speech on energy policy, he declared that if elected president, he would "stop all payment of U.S. tax dollars to global warming programs."^[413] This would be a reversal of the U.S. pledge to commit funds to developing countries to assist in climate change mitigation and could undermine the willingness of other countries to take action against climate change.^[413]

In his May 2016 speech on energy policy, Trump stated : "Under my presidency, we will accomplish complete American energy independence. We will become totally independent of the need to import energy from the oil cartel or any nation hostile to our interest."^[413] The New York Times reported that "experts say that such remarks display a basic ignorance of the workings of the global oil markets."^[413]

In January 2016, Trump vowed "tremendous cutting" of the budget for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency if elected.^[103] In an October 2015 interview with Chris Wallace, Trump explained, "what they do is a disgrace. Every week they come out with new regulations."^[428] When Wallace asked, "Who's going to protect the environment?", Trump answered "we'll be fine with the environment. We can leave a little bit, but you can't destroy businesses."^[428]

Trump has charged that the "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service abuses the Endangered Species Act to restrict oil and gas exploration."^[422] In 2011, Trump said that would permit drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska.^[429]

In July 2016, Trump suggested that he was in favor of state and local bans on hydraulic fracturing (fracking), saying, "I’m in favor of fracking, but I think that voters should have a big say in it. I mean, there’s some areas, maybe, they don’t want to have fracking. And I think if the voters are voting for it, that’s up to them... if a municipality or a state wants to ban fracking, I can understand that."^[430]

Trump has promised to construct the Keystone XL pipeline, a proposed project to bring Canadian petroleum to the U.S.^[413] Trump pledged that if elected, he would ask TransCanada Corp. to renew its permit application for the project within his first hundred days in office.^[422] Trump has claimed that Keystone XL pipeline will have "no impact on environment" and create "lots of jobs for U.S."^[431]

In his 2015 book Crippled America, Trump is highly critical of the "big push" to develop renewable energy, arguing that the push is based on a mistaken belief that greenhouse gases contribute to climate change.^[432] He writes, "There has been a big push to develop alternative forms of energy--so-called green energy--from renewable sources. That's a big mistake. To begin with, the whole push for renewable energy is being driven by the wrong motivation, the mistaken belief that global climate change is being caused by carbon emissions. If you don't buy that—and I don't—then what we have is really just an expensive way of making the tree-huggers feel good about themselves."^[432]

Despite criticizing wind farms in the past (calling them "ugly"), Trump has said that he does not oppose the wind production tax credit, saying: "I'm okay with subsidies, to an extent."^[433] Trump has criticized wind energy for being expensive and for not working without "massive subsidies".^[434] He added, "windmills are killing hundreds and hundreds of eagles. One of the most beautiful, one of the most treasured birds — and they're killing them by the hundreds and nothing happens,"^[434] a claim rated as “mostly false” by PolitiFact since best estimates indicate that about one hundred golden eagles are killed each year by wind turbine blades.^[435]

In his official platform, Trump claims that he will reduce bureaucracy which would then lead to greater innovation.^[422] His platform mentions "renewable energies", including "nuclear, wind and solar energy" in that regard but adds that he would not support those "to the exclusion of other energy".^[422]

Trump supports a higher ethanol mandate (the amount of ethanol required by federal regulation to be blended into the U.S. gasoline supply).^[436]

In a New York Times interview in July 2016, Trump "repeatedly defined American global interests almost purely in economic terms," with the nation's "roles as a peacekeeper, as a provider of a nuclear deterrent against adversaries like North Korea, as an advocate of human rights and as a guarantor of allies' borders" being "quickly reduced to questions of economic benefit to the United States."^[437]

Trump unveiled a list of foreign policy advisors in April 2016: Joseph E. Schmitz, Walid Phares, J. Keith Kellogg Jr., Carter Page,^[438] Bert Mizusawa, Gary Harrell, Chuck Kubic and George Papadopoulos.^[439][440] Retired Lt. General Michael Flynn is also a Trump foreign policy advisor (and was reportedly on Trump's shortlist for running mate).^{[441][442][443]} Politico noted that several of those cited on the list "are complete unknowns; others have mixed reputations among GOP national security pros."^[444] According to Duke political science professor Peter Feaver, the list "looks more like an ad hoc coalition of the willing than any deliberate effort to reflect a particular candidate's vision of America's role in the world."^[445] Two of the advisors "view Islamic Sharia law within the U.S. as a dire threat — even though many conservatives consider the issue a fringe obsession."^[444] One of the advisors "has accused the State Department's top official for Ukraine and Russia, Victoria Nuland, of "fomenting" the 2014 revolution that overthrew Ukraine's government."^[444] According to a former colleague, Flynn has argued for a more aggressive approach to U.S. interests around the world.^[441][442] A review of Flynn's book The Field of Fight by Will McCants of the Brookings Institution describes Flynn's vision as a combination of neoconservatism (his insistence on destroying what he sees an alliance of tyranny, dictatorships, and radical Islamist regimes) and realism (support for working with "friendly tyrants").^[446] Flynn has said that Trump's strategic approach is to "start really, really high and really, really hard, OK? And then, be prepared to get down to where you think you can actually negotiate." Flynn also disputed the notion that Trump would order the military to kill the families of terrorists and complimented Trump's ability to surround himself with good people.^[442]

Previously when asked about who he was consulting with on foreign policy during an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe, Trump responded with "I’m speaking with myself, number one, because I have a very good brain and I've said a lot of things".^[447] Some of Trump's foreign policy ideas have been met with opposition by the GOP foreign policy establishment.^[448] The Economist Intelligence Unit placed a Trump victory in the presidential election fifth in their list of ten global risks for 2016, citing his foreign policy positions which increase the risk of trade war, him being used as a potent recruitment tool for jihadi group and weakened efforts to contain Russia's expansionist tendencies.^[449]

Three letters from international relations scholars, foreign policy officials and other foreign policy experts have voiced opposition to Trump's foreign policy vision: one letter from international relations scholars called on the U.S. military to refuse orders to torture under a Trump presidency;^[450] one from GOP national security experts;^[451] and one from international relations scholars and foreign policy experts across the political spectrum.^[452]

In an interview, Trump stated "You have to take out their families, when you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families. ... When they say they don't care about their lives, you have to take out their families." When pressed on what "take out" meant, Trump said the U.S. should "wipe out their homes" and "where they came from."^[453] The intentional targeting of non-combatants is a violation of the Geneva Convention and other aspects of the international law of war.^[454]

On October 6, 2015, Trump stated that the United States "made a terrible mistake getting involved [in Afghanistan] in the first place."^[455] When asked again about Afghanistan on October 20, 2015, Trump reversed his position, claiming to have never characterized U.S. entry into Afghanistan as a mistake.^[455] Trump stated that the Afghanistan War was necessary and that he supported keeping a limited number of troops there.^[455]

Regarding the Chinese, Trump stated in 2011, "I don't think they're friends. I think they're enemies."^[456] In 2011, Trump stated that he would "send [China] a bill for the value of the secrets that they've stolen," referring to alleged Chinese theft of US stealth technology.^[457]

Trump has criticized China's inclusion in the World Trade Organization alleging that it caused job losses in the United States.^{[143][458][459]} Trump has been critical of Chinese intellectual property theft, alleging that "they [the Chinese] are stealing billions and billions of dollars of our intellectual property."^[143]

Trump stated in a December 2015 Republican primary debate that "Our military is a disaster," and in a July 2016 radio appearance described the U.S. military as "depleted and in horrible shape."^[460][461]

In July 2016, retired U.S. Marine Corps General John R. Allen, who supports Trump's opponent Hillary Clinton gave a forceful speech against Trump at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.^[462] Trump responded by calling the four-star military leader "a failed general" and saying that he had never met him.^[463][464]

Trump has stated on a number of occasions that if elected president, he "would increase [spending] on the military."^[465] Trump claims that the U.S. military will be "funded beautifully" if elected President.^[466] While Trump has not offered specifics on defense spending under a Trump presidency, he has repeatedly called for a U.S. military buildup and has criticized President Obama's military spending strategy.^[467][468] Trump has criticized the decline in the numbers of active-duty armed forces, Navy ships and Air Force planes since the end of the Cold War.^[467] Trump has pledged to rein in wasteful spending in the military.^[468]

In an interview with Fox News in June 2015, Trump claimed: "There's nobody bigger or better at the military than I am."^[469] In an interview with the Washington Post, Trump said that he would not reveal his military plans for fear of informing the enemy: "I don't want them to know what I'm thinking, does that make sense? I want people to be guessing ... I don't want people to figure it out. I don't want people to know what my plan is. I have plans. I have plans! But I don't want to do it."^[470]

Trump has stated his intention to provide presidential leadership with strong diplomacy to restore "respect" for the United States around the world and he supports a robust national defense.^{[67][154][471]} In an interview with O'Reilly, Trump claimed that he had a proven record in negotiating with foreign countries. "I've made a fortune with foreign countries."^[469]

Trump has stated, "We Americans are laughed at around the world for losing a hundred and fifty billion dollars year after year, for defending wealthy nations for nothing, nations that would be wiped off the face of the earth in about 15 minutes if it weren’t for us. Our ‘allies’ are making billions screwing us."^[472] Trump has called for allied countries, including Japan, South Korea, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Israel, to pay the United States for helping protect their nations.^{[473][474][475][476]}

In a July 2016 interview, Trump said of the European Union, "the reason that it got together was like a consortium so that it could compete with the United States."^[477] U.S. foreign-policy experts such as Strobe Talbott and Amie Kreppel noted that this was incorrect, pointing out that while the EU was established in part to rebuild the European economies after World War II, it was not created specifically to compete with the U.S., and in fact the U.S. sanctioned the EU's creation to foster peace, prevent another catastrophic war, and create a "strong European market to consume American-made goods to help fuel American economic growth."^[478]

Trump has been highly critical of German chancellor Angela Merkel, saying "Everyone thought she was a really great leader and now she's turned out to be this catastrophic leader. And she’ll be out if they don’t have a revolution."^[479][480]

In July 2016, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier stated that he was concerned about what he sees as Trump's contradictory promises to "make America strong again" while simultaneously reducing involvement overseas.^[481] Steinmeier said that Trump's proposed policies "would be dangerous not only for the United States, but for Europe and the rest of the world as well".^[481]

In regards to British voters voting to leave the European Union, Trump stated, "I think it’s a great thing that happened... Basically they took back their country. That’s a good thing."^[482] One reason that Trump was enthusiastic about the outcome of the vote was that it lowered the value of the British pound, which was good for business at his golf course in Scotland.^[483] Trump had expressed support for the "leave" side during the Brexit campaign.^{[484][485][486][487]} In an interview with Piers Morgan in May 2016, Trump said that UK withdrawal would make no difference to a potential bilateral trade deal between the UK and the United States if he became president: "I am going to treat everybody fairly but it wouldn't make any difference to me whether they were in the EU or not....You would certainly not be back of the queue, that I can tell you."^[488]

Trump said in May 2016 that if elected president, he would be unlikely "to have a very good relationship" with then-British Prime Minister David Cameron, citing Cameron's criticism of him.^[49][489] Trump subsequently said "I'm sure I'll have a good relationship with him."^[49]

In his 2000 book, The America We Deserve, Trump argued that European countries used NATO as a pathway to place the burden of international responsibility on the United States while "their conflicts are not worth American lives. Pulling back from Europe would save this country millions of dollars annually."^[490]

In a March 2016 interview with CNN, Trump called for a "rethink" of American involvement in NATO, stating that the United States pays too much to ensure the security of allies, stating that "NATO is costing us a fortune, and yes, we're protecting Europe with NATO, but we're spending a lot of money".^[491] Later in the same interview, he stated that the U.S. should not "decrease its role" in NATO but rather should decrease U.S. spending in regards to the organization.^[492] In May 2016, based on his previous statements, the Annenberg Public Policy Center's FactCheck.org has assessed that Trump might be willing to leave NATO unless changes are made to the alliance.^[493]

In a July 2016 interview, Trump "explicitly raised new questions about his commitment to automatically defend NATO allies," questioning whether he, as president, would automatically extend security guarantees to NATO members.^[437] Asked about a prospective Russia attack on NATO's Baltic members, Trump stated that would decide whether to come to their aid only after reviewing whether those nations "have fulfilled their obligations to us."^[437] This would represent a sharp break with U.S. foreign traditions.^[437][494]

Trump's remarks on NATO alarmed U.S. allies in Europe as well as experts such as Michael McFaul, who stated that "We have had decades of bipartisan commitment to NATO, which has made it the greatest alliance in history. Trump is now threatening that."^[495] A number of experts said that Trump's suggested limitations on the collective security (Article 5) provision of the NATO treaty risk unraveling the alliance or making it obsolete.^[495]

In a July 2016 interview, Trump stated that he would consider recognizing Crimea as Russian territory and lifting sanctions on Russia that were imposed after Russia began aiding insurgents seeking to undermine the Ukrainian government.^[496] In another July 2016 interview he added to this "You know the people of Crimea, from what I've heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were, and you have to look at that also."^[497] Former CIA Director Michael Hayden denounced Trump's comments as “devoid of facts and divorced from traditional American, traditionally European policy.”^[498]

Also in July 2016 Trump referred to a recent leak of Democratic National Committee email leaks, thought to be connected to a cyberattack widely thought to have been carried out by Russian intelligence services.^[499][500] Trump stated that he hoped Russia had hacked Hillary Clinton’s email, saying: "Russia, if you're listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing."^[500] The New York Times reported that Trump was "essentially urging a foreign adversary to conduct cyberespionage against a former secretary of state."^[500] Trump's comments shocked foreign-policy experts, who stated that it was unprecedented for a U.S. presidential candidate to publicly appeal "to a foreign adversary to intervene in the election on his behalf,"^[496] and "caused an uproar from much of the U.S. national-security community."^[499] Shortly afterward, Trump walked back his remarks,^[501][502] stating on Fox News: "Of course I was being sarcastic."^[503] Trump asserted that the Democrats were promoting his comments in a bid to deflect attention from the content of the leaked emails (some of which were "embarrassing to senior DNC officials" because they indicated an aim "to undermine the presidential candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont").^[499][503]

Trump has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin over a series of years, developing what CNN called a "long-established track record of...fondness for the autocratic Russian leader."^[504] In October 2007, Trump told Larry King that Putin was doing a "great job in rebuilding the image of Russia and also rebuilding Russia period."^[504] In December 2011, Trump published his book Time to Get Tough, in which he praised Putin's "intelligence" and "non-nonsense" and expressed "respect" for Putin and the Russians.^[504] In July 2016, Trump called Putin "a better leader" than U.S. President Barack Obama.^[499] In 2013, Trump wondered over Twitter whether Putin would attend the Miss Universe 2013 pageant in Moscow and "become my new best friend."^[504] In October 2013, Trump said that Putin was outsmarting the U.S.^[504] On multiple occasions in 2015, Trump said that he would get "get alone very well" with Putin.^[504] Beginning in 2015, Trump also stated of Putin, "I got to know him very well because we were both on 60 Minutes, we were stablemates." Trump repeated the "stablemates" characterization in a number of interviews and rallies, although the two men were interviewed at different times in different countries.^[504]

Putin has praised Trump, saying in December 2015: "He is a very bright and talented man, no doubt about that." Trump has repeatedly claimed that Putin has called him a "genius," a mischaracterization based on an incorrect translation;^[505] in fact, Putin used the Russian word яркий (yarkii), meaning "bright" in the sense of colorful, vivid, or flamboyant.^[506][507] Trump returned the praise (saying "It is always a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond") and shrugged off allegations of Putin's alleged assassination of journalists and dissidents by saying that Putin is "running his country and at least he's a leader, unlike what we have in this country."^[504][508]

Rossiya 1 (Russian state TV) has backed Trump, hailing him as an "anti-establishment" candidate who is ready to cooperate with Moscow.^[509] Trump has also been praised by RT, a Kremlin-aligned propaganda network.^[510]

Trump chose the Center for the National Interest, which is viewed as one "of the most Kremlin-sympathetic institutions in the nation's capital," as the venue for his first major foreign-policy speech.^[511] In the speech, Trump "made no mention of the threat Russia poses in Europe although he made a vague reference to 'serious differences' with Russia and China."^[512]

Trump has argued that a "lack of respect" by the Russians for President Obama encourages the Russians to engage in seemingly hostile air maneuvers against the U.S. in European waters.^[513] Trump has stated that the U.S. should open fire on Russian planes if Russia rejects calls to stop the approaches. Secretary of State Kerry has indicated that the U.S. would be within its rights to do so.^[513]

Trump criticized former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev as not having "a firm enough hand" controlling Russia, mentioning China for effectively handling the situation during the Tiananmen Square massacre, saying: "they were horrible, but they put it down with strength. That shows you the power of strength.^[514]

The media have noted that one of Trump's foreign policy advisors, retired Lt. General Michael Flynn, appeared in a photograph at a banquet with Putin, and Trump's campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, previously provided public relations services to deposed Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovych.^{[515][516][517][518]}

In July 2015 Trump opposed U.S. involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, describing the Crimea as "Europe's problem."^[519] In July 2016, Trump stated that he would "look into" recognizing Crimea as Russian territory.^[520] In a subsequent interview in July 2016, Trump claimed that Putin isn't going to go into Ukraine, saying "He's not going into Ukraine, okay, just so you understand. He's not gonna go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down."^[497] When informed that the Russian military has intervened in Ukraine since 2014, Trump responded, "Okay, well, he's there in a certain way".^[497] In the same interview Trump also again stated he would look "look into" recognizing Crimea as Russian territory and added to this "You know the people of Crimea, from what I've heard, would rather be with Russia than where they were, and you have to look at that also."^[497]

In August 2015 Trump stated he "did not care" about Ukrainian membership in NATO,^[200] saying that both membership and non-membership would be "great."^[490]

Speaking to the Yalta European Strategy conference in September 2015, Trump criticized Germany and other European countries for not doing enough to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, saying, Ukrainians are "not being treated right."^[200] He also claimed that because of Russian President Putin did not respect President Obama Russia had pursued an aggressive policy in Ukraine.^[490] In March 2016 Trump again claimed that Germany and other NATO countries "they're not doing anything" while the U.S. was "doing all of the lifting" even though "Ukraine is a country that affects us far less than it affects other countries in Nato".^[521]

On February 10, 2011, the day prior to the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, Trump stated that he had no sympathy for Mubarak and expressed optimism that events in Egypt will not affect the world economy.^[522] At the time, Trump offered neither criticism nor praise for how President Obama dealt with the Egyptian crisis, saying it was out of Obama's hands.^[522] Later, in August 2011, Trump criticized the Obama administration for not helping former Mubarak keep power, citing Mubarak's positive relationship with Israel and the negative effect that Mubarak's removal would have on other allies' faith in the United States.^[523][524] In 2012, Trump reiterated his criticisms of the Obama administration's handling of Mubarak and asserted that "Egypt is now our enemy" and that "Israel is in trouble."^[525]

Trump said in a December 2015 rally, "We have to see Bill Gates and a lot of different people that really understand what's happening. We have to talk to them about, maybe in certain areas, closing that Internet up in some ways. Somebody will say, 'Oh freedom of speech, freedom of speech.' These are foolish people."^[526][527] In a Republican debate in December 2015, Trump said that the Internet should be shut off to countries that have a majority of their territory controlled by terrorist organizations.^[528]

In his announcement speech, Trump said that the U.S.'s control is getting weaker and that its nuclear arsenal is old and does not work, although he appeared to be unfamiliar with the term "nuclear triad" when asked by Hugh Hewitt in a December 2015 debate what specific improvements he would make.^[529]

When asked in a March 2016 town hall meeting with MSNBC's Chris Matthews whether he would rule out the use of nuclear weapons, Trump answered that the option of using nuclear weapons should never be taken off the table.^[530]

During 2016, Trump has called for the resumption of waterboarding,^{[531][532][533][534][535]} and has repeatedly expressed support for the use of torture by the U.S. for the purpose of trying to get information from terrorists,^{[531][532][536]} if Congress allows it.^[2][536] On one occasion, Trump has called waterboarding "your minimal form of torture";^[531] on another occasion he has said, "Nobody knows if it's torture".^[537] Whether waterboarding is torture or not, Trump supports broadening the laws to allow waterboarding.^{[2][536][538]} Many experts believe that waterboarding would be illegal without a change in the laws, including a group of foreign policy experts who published a letter in Foreign Policy magazine to that effect in March 2016.^[539]

On the effectiveness of torture, Trump has said: "Don't tell me it doesn't work — torture works"^[532] and "we have to beat the savages".^[536] Trump has also said:

I’d go through a process and get it declassified [as a war crime], certainly waterboarding at a minimum. They're chopping off heads of Christians and many other people in the Middle East....They laugh at us when they hear that we're not going to approve waterboarding ... I have no doubt that it does work in terms of information and other things, and maybe not always, but nothing works always.^[534][540]

Moreover, he says, if waterboarding "doesn't work, they deserve it anyway, for what they're doing".^[541] Trump's statement that "torture works" runs counter to a 2014 Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture, in which a majority of the committee's members concluded that the CIA's use of enhanced interrogation techniques was "not an effective means of acquiring intelligence or gaining cooperation from detainees".^[542] But, there is strong public support for the proposition that torture can be justified to obtain information about terrorism, and Trump voices that belief.^[543] Many people in the CIA favor interrogation that goes beyond the current limitations in the United States Army Field Manuals, and they find it ironic that the U.S. has softened interrogations of terrorists while increasingly killing them by drone strikes, though others in the CIA are unwilling to risk more fallout from coercive interrogations.^[544]

At a Republican primary debate in March 2016, when asked whether the U.S. military would obey orders to torture in violation of international law, Trump stated: "Frankly, when I say they'll do as I tell them, they'll do as I tell them".^[2] The following day, Trump said that he would "not order military or other officials to violate those laws and will seek their advice on such matters".^[2] Several weeks later, Trump called for a change in the law to legalize "the waterboarding thing". Trump referred to those who "came up with this international law" as "eggheads" and said that the current legal limitations were "probably a political decision" rather than based upon military advice.^[2][538]

In June 2016, Trump maintained that "Iran is now the dominant Islamic power in the Middle East and on the road to nuclear weapons."^[143] Trump opposes the international nuclear agreement with Iran (negotiated with the U.S. and five other world powers) that was made in 2015, calling it "terrible" and saying that the Obama administration negotiated the agreement "from desperation."^[545] Trump has claimed that he has "studied this issue in great detail... actually greater by far than anybody else."^[546] Trump opposed the sanctions relief in the agreement, saying: "we're giving them billions of dollars in this deal, which we shouldn't have given them. We should have kept the money."^[545] Trump has claimed that the U.S. gives Iran $150 billion as part of the Iran deal, a statement rated false by FactCheck.org.^[547] FactCheck.org notes that the Iranian assets that were unfrozen as part of the deal were held mostly by banks and other financial institutions outside the U.S. and that the value of the assets is estimated to be between $25 billion and $56 billion.^[547] Trump has claimed that "when those restrictions expire (in the Iran nuclear deal), Iran will have an industrial-size military nuclear capability ready to go," a statement rated "false" by PolitiFact.^[546] Trump was critical of State Department officials as they negotiated the Iran deal, saying that "It's a one-day deal. This whole thing should have taken a day."^[548]

In July 2015, when explaining his opposition to the Iran agreement, Trump cited four American prisoners being held prisoner in the country.^[545] When the four prisoners were released in January 2016, after the agreement went into effect, Trump claimed credit for the release, an assertion that was termed "dubious" by CBS News.^[549]

In August 2015, Trump had said that despite opposing the content of the deal, he would attempt to enforce it rather than abrogate it.^[550] In a speech to AIPAC in March 2016, however, Trump said that his "number-one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran."^[551]

In September 2015, Trump told CNN that he believed the agreement would compel the U.S. to side with Iran in the event of war: "There's something in the Iran deal that people I don't think really understand or know about, and nobody's able to explain it, that if somebody attacks Iran, we have to come to their defense. So if Israel attacks Iran, according to that deal, I believe the way it reads [...] that we have to fight with Iran against Israel."^[552] Trump's statement is based on his interpretation of a provision in the agreement that "the U.S. and other partners are prepared, as appropriate, to cooperate with training to strengthen Iran's ability to protect against and respond to nuclear security threats, including sabotage." PolitiFact rated Trump's statement "false" and the Obama administration disagrees with Trump's interpretation.^[553]

During an interview with Bill O'Reilly, Trump was asked whether he would negotiate a new deal with Iran. Trump responded that, with the current deal, "Iran is doing nuclear. They're going nuclear." He would "put on the sanctions big league. I'd double and triple up the sanctions and make a deal from strength."^[469] According to Trump, nuclear weapons, not global warming, is the world's biggest problem.^[469] Trump said that any deal with Iran should stipulate that inspectors have 24-hour-a-day access immediately to all nuclear sites and made reference to U.S. nationals imprisoned the country.^[545]

On September 11, 2002, when asked by radio talk-show host Howard Stern if he supported an invasion of Iraq, Trump responded, "Yeah, I guess so."^{[554][555][556]} On January 28, 2003, the night of President George Bush's State of the Union address, Trump said that he expected to hear "a lot of talk about Iraq" and urged Bush to make a decision on Iraq—"Either you attack or you don't attack"—without offering an opinion on which Bush should do.^[557]

On March 21, 2003, one day into the Iraq War, Trump was interviewed by Fox News' Neil Cavuto. Trump said that the war appeared to be "a tremendous success from a military standpoint."^[558]

Trump first publicly criticized the war in an interview published in Esquire in August 2004, sixteen months after the invasion.^[559] Trump said: "Look at the war in Iraq and the mess that we're in," criticized the George W. Bush administration's handling of the war, dismissed the idea of Iraq becoming functionally democratic, and predicted that "Two minutes after we leave, there's going to be a revolution, and the meanest, toughest, smartest, most vicious guy will take over. And he'll have weapons of mass destruction, which Saddam didn't have."^[559][560]

On the campaign trail in 2015 and 2016, Trump has repeatedly claimed to have been "against the war from the very beginning."^[559][561]

Trump has been highly critical of the Obama administration's treatment of Israel, stating that "Israel has been totally mistreated."^[143] Trump said that he would not take sides in any Israeli-Palestinian agreement in order to be a neutral negotiator in the peace talks despite also adding that he is "totally pro-Israel".^[562] In an interview with the Daily Mail in May 2016, Trump broke with long-standing bipartisan U.S. policy, as Trump rejects a pause in the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank as a precursor to negotiations with the Palestinians. Trump said in May 2016 that Israel "have to keep going" and "I don't think there should be a pause".^[563] Ynetnews noted: "If elected, Trump's seemingly broad support of settlement development would constitute a dramatic shift in U.S. foreign policy, as both Democratic and Republican U.S. presidents have stated in the past that the settlements are illegal and no further building in them should be allowed."^[563]

In December 2015, Trump told the Associated Press that the achievement of an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord would depend very much upon Israel. Trump said that he had "a real question as to whether or not both sides want" peace and that: "A lot will have to do with Israel and whether or not Israel wants to make the deal — whether or not Israel's willing to sacrifice certain things."^[564] Trump has criticized the Palestinian Authority for the absence of peace, saying: "the Palestinian Authority has to recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state. ... and they] have to stop the terror, stop the attacks, stop the teaching of hatred... They have to stop the teaching of children to aspire to grow up as terrorists, which is a real problem. Of course, the recognition of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state is also a major sticking point, with the current Palestinian leadership repeatedly refusing to meet that basic condition."^[565]

At a press conference in March 2016, Trump said that as president, he would require U.S. allies to pay the U.S. back for the defense spending and foreign aid that the U.S. has spent on their behalf. When specifically asked whether his previously stated stance on charging U.S allies for defense spending would extend to Israel, he replied "I think Israel would do that also. There are many countries that can pay, and they can pay big-league."^[566] However, immediately after the press conference, Trump reversed himself on that position of aid to Israel, adding, "They [Israel] help us greatly."^[567]

Trump has said on more than one occasion that if elected president he will move the U.S. embassy in Israel from its current site in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which he described as the "eternal capital of the Jewish people."^[568][569] In an earlier speech before the Republican Jewish Coalition, Trump had refused to say whether he supports Israel's position that Jerusalem is its undivided capital.^[564] Trump has vowed that, if elected president, he will veto a United Nations-imposed Israel-Palestine peace agreement, stating: "When I'm president, believe me, I will veto any attempt by the U.N. to impose its will on the Jewish state. It will be vetoed 100 percent."^[568] He added that "The Palestinians must come to the table knowing that the bond between the United States and Israel is absolutely, totally unbreakable."^[568]

After Trump proposed in December 2015 to temporarily exclude Muslims from travel to the United States, numerous world leaders, including Netanyahu, criticized Trump's proposal.^[570] Netanyahu released a statement saying: "The State of Israel respects all religions and strictly guarantees the rights of all its citizens."^[570] Several dozen members of the Knesset (Israeli parliament), many of whom are Muslim themselves, signed a petition urging Netanyahu not to meet with Trump later that month.^[571] The following day, Trump postponed his visit to Israel until "a later date after I become President of the U.S."^[572] stating that he did not want to put Netanyahu "under pressure."^[570]

Trump released a video endorsing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the 2013 Israeli election.^[573][574]

In 2006, Trump said that Israel was one of his favorite countries, adding: "I know that you've been through a lot recently... I believe Israel is a great country."^[575] In 1983, Trump was awarded Israel's Tree of Life award by the Jewish National Fund for long-standing contributions to US-Israel relations.^[576] Trump lent his personal jet to New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani so that the latter could show solidarity for terror victims in Israel in 2001, and Trump was the grand marshal of the Celebrate Israel Parade in New York in 2004.^[577] Trump has been a popular figure in Israel, where his name has been used to sell products such as vodka.^[578] Trump has formerly owned land in Israel, having purchased the Elite Tower site for $44 million.^[579] In 2015, Trump accepted the Liberty Award at the Second Annual Algemeiner Jewish 100 Gala in honor of his contributions to Israel–United States relations, saying: "We love Israel, we will fight for Israel 100 percent, 1000 percent, it will be there forever."^[580][581]

In 2009, Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi rented space through intermediaries on Trump's Seven Springs estate in the suburb of Bedford, New York. (Gaddafi rented Trump's land to camp in a "Bedouin-style" tent while in the U.S. to attend the UN General Assembly.) The situation created controversy when the tents were raised on the property, and Trump forced Gaddafi off the property saying that he was unaware of the arrangement.^{[582][583][584]} In 2011, Trump told Fox News that he had "screwed" Gaddafi on the deal, touting the affair as evidence of foreign-policy experience.^[583]

Trump was a strong supporter of the 2011 military intervention in Libya, arguing "fervently" on a number of occasions that U.S. military intervention was necessary to advert humanitarian disaster in Libya and warning that it would be "a major, major black eye for this country [the U.S.]" if it failed to depose Gaddafi.^[585][586] In a February 2011 video blog, Trump said: "I can't believe what our country is doing. Qaddafi in Libya is killing thousands of people, nobody knows how bad it is, and we're sitting around we have soldiers all have the Middle East, and we're not bringing them in to stop this horrible carnage ... Now we should go in, we should stop this guy, which would be very easy and very quick."^[586] Trump made similar comments in a March 2011 appearance on Piers Morgan Tonight.^[586] In 2011, Trump also advocated U.S. seizure of Libyan oil.^[587]

While campaigning for the presidency in 2016, Trump reversed his earlier position, stating on several occasions that the U.S. would be "so much better off" or "100% better off" if Gaddafi remained in charge of Libya.^[588][589] At a Republican primary debate in February 2016, Trump claimed that he "never discussed" the Libyan intervention at the time it occurred; Politifact noted that this assertion was "patently inaccurate" and gave it its "Pants on Fire" rating.^[588] In June 2016, Trump again reversed course, saying on CBS' Face the Nation that he would have supported "surgical" bombing, against Gaddafi in particular.^[590]

In May 2016, Trump suggested that the United States should bomb ISIL in Libya.^[591]

Trump has advocated placing greater pressure on China, including through restrictions on trade, to rein in its ally North Korea in the wake of the 2016 North Korea nuclear test,^[592] saying that China has "total control" over North Korea^[592] and the U.S. has "tremendous" economic power over China.^[593]

Trump described North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un as a "maniac" but also claimed that Kim deserves "credit" for being able to overcome his rivals in order to succeed his father.^[594]

Trump has "declined to share details of his plans to deal with North Korea"^[49] but has said that he would be willing to meet Kim, saying that he would have "no problem" doing so.^[49][593] An editorial in North Korean state media hailed Trump as a "wise politician" and "far-sighted presidential candidate" who could be good for North Korea.^[595] The editorial suggested that a statement from Trump that he did not want to get involved in any conflict between North and South Korea was "fortunate from North Koreans' perspective".^[595]

Trump has expressed support for South Korea and Japan having nuclear weapons if they would be unwilling to pay the United States for security.^{[596][597][598][599]} He has also deemed it inevitable, "It's going to happen anyway. It's only a question of time. They're going to start having them or we have to get rid of them entirely."^[596]

Political scientists Gene Gerzhoy and Nick Miller write that the idea the nuclear proliferation is inevitable and good for the United States flies "in the face of a wide range of recent scholarship."^[600] Richard Nephew, a fellow with the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, states: "The prevailing, bipartisan and fairly settled academic judgment has been that the risk of loose nukes or accidental nuclear war means that every additional nuclear weapon is a potential cataclysm waiting to happen. I'm not aware of anyone that I'd deem to be a serious policy proponent or thinker who has seriously advocated this in a while."^[601]

When asked in a March 2016 interview with the New York Times whether he would object if Japan and South Korea "got their own nuclear arsenal, given the threat that they face from North Korea and China", Trump said that if the United States could no longer pay for protecting the two states, it could mean that Japan and South Korea would go nuclear.^[597] Trump added, "if Japan had that nuclear threat, I’m not sure that would be a bad thing for us."^[597] In an interview with Fox News, Trump said that "maybe they would in fact be better off if they defend themselves from North Korea... including with nukes."^[598] Referring to a Japan armed with nuclear weapons, Trump said, "the case could be made, that let them protect themselves against North Korea. They’d probably wipe them out pretty quick."^[599]

In June 2016, after Hillary Clinton said that Trump had "encouraged" Japan to have nuclear weapons, Trump reversed himself on the issue, saying that he did not favor Japanese acquisition of nuclear weapons and accusing Clinton of misrepresenting his position.^[602] PolitiFact reported that Clinton's statement was "mostly true," stating that: "Trump used vague and contradictory language, but it’s a fair reading to say his words amounted to encouragement. On more than one occasion, Trump publicly said that Japan, and the United States, might be better off if Japan had nuclear weapons, and he declined multiple attempts by interviewers to backtrack from that view."^[601]

In March 2016, Anderson Cooper asked, "Saudi Arabia, nuclear weapons?" Trump answered: "Saudi Arabia, absolutely."^[596] Cooper then asked, "You would be fine with them having nuclear weapons?" Trump responded, "No, not nuclear weapons, but they have to protect themselves or they have to pay us."^[596]

Trump has been critical of Pakistan, comparing it to North Korea, calling it "probably the most dangerous country" in the world, and claiming that Pakistan's nuclear weapons posed a "serious problem." He has advocated improving relations with India as a supposed "check" to Pakistan.^[603]

In October 2013, Trump wrote in a Twitter message that NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden "is a spy who should be executed—but if ... he could reveal Obama's records, I might become a major fan."^[604] In July 2013, Trump said on Fox & Friends that "I think Snowden is a terrible threat" and suggested that he should be put to death.^[605] In 2014, Trump tweeted that "Snowden is bad, done tremendous damage to our country," but that "we have far worse in our government."^[606]

During a Republican primary debate in 2016, Trump called Snowden a "total traitor" and "terrible threat" and again called him "a spy."^{[607][608][609]} Snowden responded by saying: "It's very difficult to respond in a serious way to any statement that's made by Donald Trump."^[608]

Trump's positions on defeating ISIL have frequently changed throughout his presidential campaign.^[106] Trump has claimed that he would "bomb the hell" out of Iraqi oil fields controlled by ISIL.^[469][610] In the aftermath of the November 13, 2015, terrorist attacks in Paris, which were committed by ISIL, Trump reiterated his statements about ISIL from November 12, 2015, when he stated he would "bomb the shit out of 'em"^[611] and said "I'd blow up the [oil] pipes, I'd blow up the refineries, and you know what, you'll get Exxon to come in there in two months... and I'd take the oil."^[612] Trump said in an interview with Anderson Cooper "There is no Iraq. Their leaders are corrupt."^[611] In 2015 when asked how he would deal with Iraq's condemnation of strikes on their oil fields, Trump replied that Iraq is a corrupt country that is not deserving of his respect.^[469] Trump said that to combat ISIL, he would "I would find you a proper general. I would find a Patton or a McArthur. I would hit them so hard your head would spin."^[469]

Trump's first post-announcement interview on June 17, 2015, was with Bill O'Reilly on The O'Reilly Factor.^[469] One of several issues he highlighted was his proposed strategy in dealing with the Syrian Civil War.^[469] In the interview, Trump stated: "Iran and Russia are protecting Syria and it's sort of amazing that we're in there fighting ISIS in Syria so we're helping the head of Syria [Bashar al-Assad] who is not supposed to be our friend although he looks a lot better than some of our so-called friends."^[469] Instead of fighting ISIL in Syria, Trump suggested "maybe Syria should be a free zone for ISIS, let them fight and then you pick up the remnants."^[469]

In a Republican primary debate in November 2015, Trump said he "got to know [Vladimir Putin] very well because we were both on '60 Minutes', we were stable mates, we did well that night." Trump said he approved of Russia's intervention in Syria, stating: "If Putin wants to knock the hell out of ISIS, I'm all for it 100 percent and I can't understand how anybody would be against that ... He's going in and we can go in and everybody should go in."^[613] During his speech at the Oklahoma State Fair, Trump accused his opponents of wanting to "start World War III over Syria."^[470]

Trump stated in November 2015, "I know more about ISIS than the generals do. Believe me."^[614]

When asked in the March 11 CNN debate if he would send ground troops to fight ISIL, Trump answered, "We really have no choice. We have to knock out ISIS."^[615] When pressed on specific numbers, Trump answered, "I would listen to the generals, but I'm hearing numbers of 20,000 to 30,000. We have to knock them out fast."^[615] Later that month, he retracted that statement, saying that he would "never ever" deploy 20,000 to 30,000 U.S. troops to combat ISIL.^[616] In June 2016, Trump stated that he "[likes] the idea of using NATO and also neighbors that aren’t in NATO" to "take [ISIL] out" and that "it’s very possible that we should use NATO" to fight ISIL.^[617]

In an interview, Trump stated "You have to take out their families, when you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families. ... When they say they don't care about their lives, you have to take out their families." When pressed on what "take out" meant, Trump said the U.S. should "wipe out their homes" and "where they came from."^[453] The intentional targeting of non-combatants is a violation of the Geneva Convention and other aspects of the international law of war.^[454] Jonathan Russell, head of policy for the anti-radicalization think tank Quilliam, warned that Trump's "anti-Muslim rhetoric" helps ISIL's narrative, saying "Trump will contribute to Islamist radicalization as his comments will make Muslims feel unwelcome in America. This grievance will fuel their identity crisis, which when combined are a potent combination for the vulnerability that ISIS is so adept at exploiting with their Islamist narrative."^[618]

In the aftermath of the Orlando nightclub shooting, Trump accused the Obama administration has actively "supported" the Islamic extremist group that became ISIL, an assertion rated "Pants on Fire" by PolitiFact (which quoted experts describing the claim as a "transparently fallacious conspiracy theory") and given "Four Pinocchios" by the Washington Post fact-checker (which described it as a "bizarre claim").^[619][620]

Regarding the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, Trump said in a July 2016 interview, "I give great credit to [Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] for being able to turn that around."^[437] When asked if Erdoğan was exploiting the coup attempt to purge his political enemies, Trump did not call for the Turkish leader to observe the rule of law, or offer other cautions for restraint. He said that the U.S. had to "fix our own mess" before trying to change the behavior of other countries.^[437]

Trump stated in the July 2016 interview that he believed he could persuade Erdoğan to step up efforts against ISIL.^[437] When asked how he would solve the problem of Turkish attacks on Kurds who are fighting ISIL, Trump said "Meetings."^[437]

In March 2016, Trump criticized the United Nations, saying that it was weak, incompetent, and "not a friend of democracy... freedom... the United States... Israel".^[621] In 2005, Trump praised the U.N., saying he was "a big fan, a very big fan, of the United Nations and all it stands for".^[621]