Trump's big speech
President Trump's national security adviser tried to get him to forgo the phrase 'radical Islam' tonight. He was overruled.
President Trump's new national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, argued that the president should not use the phrase "radical Islamic terrorism" or "radical Islam" in his address to Congress on Tuesday night but was overruled, NBC's Katy Tur reports. Trump's chief speechwriter, Stephen Miller, left the phrase in, Politico writes.
McMaster told his new staff he considered the term "radical Islamic terrorism" unhelpful, according to a second White House aide. "Even a small change like referring to ‘radical Islamist terrorism’ would be an improvement, in his view," said this aide.
"Islamist" typically describes fundamentalist supporters of Islam-based government and society, rather than implicitly encompassing all Muslims. [Politico]
Politico adds that Trump's advisers were concerned with straying too far from his usual rhetoric, which is avowedly not politically correct. President Barack Obama typically used the phrase "violent extremism," rather than name Islam specifically.
Trump apparently plans to moderate his rhetoric elsewhere. The Washington Post's Abby D. Phillip points out that Trump's prepared remarks refer to the Muslim victims of the Islamic State, not just the Christian ones, which the president has not always done.