Source: The New York Times

By ALAN RAPPEPORT

The Trump campaign appeared to disavow one of its most provocative policy proposals on Thursday, as Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana said explicitly that Donald J. Trump no longer wanted to impose a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the United States.

In a round of television interviews in which he was asked to clarify once and for all where the campaign stands on the proposal, Mr. Pence, who opposed the ban before becoming Mr. Trump’s running mate, declared the idea dead. The reversal is a significant one for the Trump campaign, which was accused of promoting a policy that was discriminatory and probably unconstitutional when Mr. Trump unveiled it in the name of national security last year.

Asked on CNN about why he will not condemn the Muslim ban now, Mr. Pence said, “Because that’s not Donald Trump’s position now.”

In recent months, Mr. Trump has changed how he has talked about the ban, saying that “extreme vetting” of immigrants should be focused on people coming from countries that have been compromised by terrorists. But that idea led to more confusion, because it was not clear if it was an expansion of the Muslim ban or a shift away from it.

Mr. Pence appeared to imply in August that he would be open to broadening the ban to other religions, but the emphasis was placed on geography.

“That’s what Donald Trump and I are calling for now, is to have a temporary suspension of immigration from countries or territories compromised by terrorism, and I believe that’s an appropriate action given the horrendous, horrendous violence that we see,” Mr. Pence toldCharlie Sykes, a Wisconsin talk radio host, at the time.

Historians have compared Mr. Trump’s Muslim ban to some of thedarkest moments in American history, likening it to the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 and the use of internment camps for Japanese-Americans during World War II.

The timing of Mr. Pence’s latest remarks may not be a coincidence.Polls have shown a majority of Americans oppose the concept of barring Muslims, while Republicans remain divided about it. The retreat on Thursday was the latest example of the Trump campaign changing a position as the election approaches.

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