Trump: 'You bet your ass I would' approve waterboarding — even if it doesn't work


Presidential candidate Donald Trump said in a speech Monday night he would absolutely reinstate the use of waterboarding and other torture methods to interrogate terror suspects.
"Would I approve waterboarding? You bet your ass I would — in a heartbeat," he said. "And I would approve more than that." Trump went on to argue that waterboarding is an effective means of extracting information, and that "only a stupid person" could think otherwise. But he also conceded that his support of the technique was not based on efficacy: "If it doesn't work, they deserve it anyway, for what they're doing," he said, before repeating for at least the fifth time, "It works."
Trump's plan is surprising given that he reportedly possesses the "world's greatest memory," and thus surely recalls the content of the Senate torture report released last year. The investigation found the CIA's use of torture, including waterboarding, did not work to prevent terrorist attacks and was applied to at least 26 known innocents, among them a mentally challenged man whose cries of pain were recorded in an attempt to make one of his family members talk.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
July 30 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Wednesday’s political cartoons include a beast under the surface, new unemployment officers, and more
-
The Miami Showband massacre, 50 years on
The Explainer Unanswered questions remain over Troubles terror attack that killed three members of one of Ireland's most popular music acts
-
Tea app hack: user data stolen from women's dating safety app
In The Spotlight Data leak has led to fears users could be targeted by men angered by the app's premise
-
Judge halts GOP defunding of Planned Parenthood
Speed Read The Trump administration can't withhold Medicaid funds from Planned Parenthood, said the ruling
-
Trump contradicts Israel, says 'starvation' in Gaza
Speed Read The president suggests Israel could be doing more to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians
-
Trump executive order targets homeless
Speed Read It will now be easier for states and cities to remove homeless people from the streets
-
Columbia pays $200M to settle with White House
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the school of failing to protect its Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests
-
Florida judge and DOJ make Epstein trouble for Trump
Speed Read The Trump administration's request to release grand jury transcripts from the Epstein investigation was denied
-
Trump attacks Obama as Epstein furor mounts
Speed Read The Trump administration accused the Obama administration of 'treasonous' behavior during the 2016 election
-
Trump administration releases MLK files
Speed Read Newly released documents on the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not hold any new revelations, King historians said
-
Japan's prime minister feels pressure after election losses
Speed Read Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office