Donald Trump I Will Absolutely Bring Back Waterboarding

Donald Trump made it clear he had no qualms about reviving a controversial interrogation tactic. Speaking in an interview on March 5, 2015, the real estate mogul and budding presidential candidate said he would absolutely bring back waterboarding if he won the White House. He framed the move as a necessary step against groups like ISIS.

Trump argued that enemy fighters had no interest in playing by any rules, so American forces should not tie their own hands. He pointed to past practices as effective tools that had been abandoned under political pressure. The comments came as the Republican primary field started to take shape, with Trump already drawing attention for his blunt style on foreign policy and national security.

Critics on both sides of the aisle quickly pushed back. Some called the stance reckless, warning it could endanger U.S. troops captured abroad or damage America’s standing with allies. Others noted that waterboarding had been banned by the military and intelligence community years earlier after internal reviews found it unreliable for gathering accurate intelligence.

Still, Trump stuck to his line without hesitation. He suggested that tough measures had worked before and would work again if given the chance. For supporters already drawn to his outsider message, the remarks fit a pattern of rejecting what he saw as weak, overly cautious leadership in Washington.

The episode offered an early glimpse of how Trump planned to handle questions about terrorism and military policy on the campaign trail. It also set off fresh debate over whether such tactics belonged in any serious discussion of American strategy.