Trump manager struggles to define Trump’s Muslim ban

Kellyanne Conway first defended Trump’s blanket restriction against Muslims entering the United States on MSNBC, but then appeared to suggest Trump had modified his message moments after saying the message had not been superseded. Conway was asked by MSNBC host Rachel Maddow whether Trump’s recent comment about focusing on countries that export terrorism supplants his earlier comment about banning all Muslims from all countries.

“No, I don’t think it supplants it at all,” Conway answered.

“So they both exist?” Maddow asked.

“I think that — well, yes, they do, because I think it clarifies it,” Conway said.

Conway and Maddow tried again by discussing the specific example of whether a Muslim from Australia would be permitted to enter the U.S., and whether German migrants would be blocked. Trump’s campaign manager seemed to suggest the total Muslim ban was an old policy and now there is a new one, in contrast to what she said minutes earlier.

“[T]he general policy is what he says it is, which is—” Conway said before Maddow interrupted her.

“What he says is a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” Maddow said.

“That was, and now it’s from the region—” Conway replied before the host cut her off again.

“So you are saying that’s no longer operable?” Maddow asked.

“I’m saying that you should see what he said last Monday, where he’s saying suspend it from regions of the country that are known exporters of terrorism,” Conway answered.

Whether Trump’s Muslim ban is a campaign promise he intends to keep without any modification remains unclear. The GOP nominee has expressed an interest in “softening” his approach to illegal immigration writ large, and offered an explanation on Fox News on Wednesday night that was described as akin to that of Jeb Bush, Trump’s former nemesis during the primaries.

Trump will campaign in Manchester, N.H., on Thursday afternoon, and may choose to address illegal immigration again there.