Here's How Donald Trump Justified Killing Innocent Muslim Civilians at the GOP Debate

Impact

During Tuesday's Republican debate, GOP frontrunner and real estate mogul Donald Trump continued to make clear that, if elected president, his policies would be not only discriminatory but also potentially deadly for innocent civilians.

Trump fielded a question from a college student who brought up earlier statements that the candidate made suggesting that the way to attack ISIS, the terrorist group behind the recent deadly attacks in Paris, was to kill the families of ISIS members. "How would intentionally killing innocent civilians set us apart from ISIS?" the student asked.

Trump didn't back down from his earlier statements, saying, "We have to be much tougher and much stronger than we've been." 

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Bringing up the recent alleged terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, California, Trump seemed to imply that family members were to blame for the actions of their relatives. "You look at the attack in California the other day," Trump said. "Numerous people, including the mother, that knew what was going on. They saw a pipe bomb sitting all over the floor. They saw ammunition all over the place. They knew exactly what was going on."

Then Trump left no doubts about how, exactly, he would treat anyone with familial connections to a potential terrorist, "I would be very, very firm with families. Frankly, that will make people think because they may not care much about their lives. But they do care, believe it or not, about their families' lives."