Donald Trump says United States should bring back waterboarding

US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric against Muslims in America, saying he will like to monitor their mosques.

And in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Trump reiterated his remarks from the day before.

Donald Trump, the leading Republican contender for U.S. president, says he would return to strong interrogation techniques such as waterboarding if he were elected.

The Central Intelligence Agency is known to have used waterboarding with at least three people arrested in connection with the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the US. “And I definitely want a database and other checks and balances”.

“I want to have watch lists. We want him to sit down with us and explain why he did what he did and why’s he’s going around the country spewing hatred and racism”.

But then he suggested the database would focus more on refugees than all Muslim Americans. Refugees are already subject to a lengthy vetting process that can last years, but the government doesn’t necessarily track them after they arrive.

Trump was also questioned Sunday about whether he would favor banning people on terrorist watch lists from obtaining firearms, to which he responded, “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”.

“It was on television”. When asked about requiring Muslims to register in a database or carry a form of special identification noting their religion, Trump said, “We’re going to have to look at a lot of things very closely”.

In the chaos after 9/11, there were a few false reports and internet rumors, but despite being widely debunked, Trump insists he saw it and stood by his comments on “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos. I know it might be not politically correct for you to talk about it, but there were people cheering as those buildings came down.

Trump first claimed to have seen the images of people cheering in New Jersey while speaking at a rally in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday.

“I do want surveillance”. Another national poll, from Fox News, also found Trump to be in the lead with 28 percent, 10 points ahead of Carson.

Interviewer: Muslims specifically, how do you actually get them registered into a database?

However, Trump reminded ABC on Sunday, “When I did this, I said I have to be treated fairly”.

Matthew Guerra posted, “Yeah, they did cheer … not thousands, but believe me it happened”.

Trump slightly shifted his position on tracking Muslims and closing mosques after a storm of criticism, including by other Republican presidential candidates.

A Trump sign is seen on a seat as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a town hall meeting at the Ben Johnson Arena on the Wofford College campus, Friday, November 20, 2015, in Spartanburg, S.C.