Donald Trump's campaign website used to have a page dedicated specifically to his position on banning all Muslim travel to the United States. It was one of the most infamous, terrifying proposals of his entire presidential campaign.
And now it seems like his team can’t decide if he wants you to remember it or not.
Sometime after Election Day, that page disappeared from his website and just redirected users back to the homepage. One of the most racist policies we’ve seen this century had conveniently disappeared.
On Thursday afternoon, though, after Fusion and multiple other news outlets had reported the statement's disappearance, the webpage returned. The Trump team released a statement to The Washington Post claiming an error caused all press releases to redirect to the front page.
Well, no matter what happens, we’re not going to forget what Trump said. Here are the contents of that page, preserved for posterity whether the Trump team likes it or not:
(New York, NY) December 7th, 2015, — Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on. According to Pew Research, among others, there is great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population. Most recently, a poll from the Center for Security Policy released data showing "25% of those polled agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad" and 51% of those polled, "agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Shariah." Shariah authorizes such atrocities as murder against non-believers who won't convert, beheadings and more unthinkable acts that pose great harm to Americans, especially women.
Mr. Trump stated, "Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine. Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life. If I win the election for President, we are going to Make America Great Again." - Donald J. Trump
When Trump first suggested this ban, it was widely condemned by Republican leaders, such as Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
“I do not think a Muslim ban is in our country’s interest,” Ryan said last June. “I do not think it is reflective of our principles, not just as a party but as a country.”
And yet just yesterday, Ryan was saying Trump would now lead a "unified Republican government." Life comes at you fast.