LAS VEGAS (AFP) – Donald Trump used a speech to a Republican Jewish convention Saturday to promise re-imposition of a controversial travel ban that targeted a slew of mostly Muslim countries if he gets re-elected.
"We will keep terrorists the hell out of our country," Trump told the audience attending the annual summit of the Republican Jewish Coalition.
"You remember the travel ban? On day one I will restore our travel ban."
At the start of his presidency in 2017, Trump imposed sweeping restrictions on the entry of travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and, initially, Iraq and Sudan.
The order was quickly challenged in court as discriminatory against a religious group, but the bans, along with Trump's hard-line anti-immigration agenda, were popular with his base.
The former US leader was among several Republican hopefuls lining up at the gathering of influential Jewish donors to pledge unwavering support for Israel in its war against Hamas.
Trump told the event, held in Las Vegas, in the southwestern state of Nevada, that he would "defend our friend and ally in the State of Israel like nobody has ever."
The conflict between Israel and Hamas is "a fight between civilization and savagery, between decency and depravity, and between good and evil," said Trump, who received the warmest response from attendees, as he took aim at the Biden administration and avoided criticizing his rivals.