interrogation techniques face bipartisan opposition and have been slammed as ineffective by military and intelligence officials

After talking tough about torture during Thursday's debate, Donald Trump toned down his rhetoric in a statement Friday, before doubling down again Saturday vowing to expand torture laws and 'play the game the way [ISIS plays] the game.'

The statement Friday, in which Trump conceded that he would be 'bound by laws' if elected president and said he would 'not order our military... to violate those laws' was issued after he came under fire for his promises to torture terrorists and indiscriminately kill their relatives.

On Saturday Trump clarified that instead of issuing unlawful orders, he would expand the law to allow more severe forms of torture.

Donald Trump clarified his stance on torture Saturday. Pictured: Trump supporters pledge their allegiance to the Republican candidate by raising their right arms at a mass rally Saturday.

'I will always abide by the law, but I would like to have the law expanded,' Trump told CBS.

'Right now, basically, waterboarding is essentially not allowed, as I understand it. ... I would certainly like it to be, at a minimum, at a minimum to allow that,' Trump continued.

He said because ISIS doesn't follow the rules in its brutal terror campaign, the United States needs to change its regulations in order to 'better compete.'

In June last year, Republicans and Democrats in the Senate came together to reaffirm a ban on harsh interrogation techniques.

That ruling came shortly after a Senate intelligence committee report denounced torture as ineffective.

'In general, what I've taken away from our practices and what the research shows is that the rapport-based techniques — that we operate under and focus on — are shown to elicit greater detail in a quicker fashion' said Frazier Thompson, director of the High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group after the report was published.

This graphic illustrates the interrogation technique known as waterboarding, in which the subject is made to feel close to drowning

Former torture victim and Republican senator John McCain said harsh interrogation techniques do not work

Republican senator John McCain, who was tortured while in captivity during the Vietnam war, agreed in February that torture doesn't work.

'Given the loose talk on the campaign trail about reviving waterboarding and other inhumane interrogation techniques, it is important to remember the facts,' McCain said.

'These forms of torture not only failed their purpose to secure actionable intelligence to prevent further attacks on the U.S. and our allies, but compromised our values, stained our national honor and did little practical good,' he added.

Former CIA director Michael Hayden said last month that if Trump were to go through with his pledge from December to 'take out the families' of terrorists, the armed forces could refuse to carry out the order.

'If he were to order that once in government, the American armed forces would refuse to act,' Hayden said in an interview with HBO talk show host Bill Maher.