“To defeat a terrorist, you gotta think like a terrorist.” Photo: Ty Wright/Getty Images

On Wednesday morning, Republican front-runner Donald Trump revealed his big new idea for winning the war on terrorism: kill more women and children in the Middle East.

In an interview with Fox and Friends, Trump laid out his plans for defeating ISIS, beginning, as always, with his vow to “hit them like they’ve never been hit before.” But when co-host Brian Kilmeade asked Trump about the risk of civilian casualties, the candidate’s policy thinking became decidedly more innovative. At first, Trump pledged to do “his absolute best” to minimize civilian casualties. But then he seemed to have second thoughts.

“We’re fighting a very politically correct war,” Trump observed. “And the other thing with the terrorists — you have to take out their families. When you get these terrorists, you have to take out their families! They care about their lives, don’t kid yourselves. They say they don’t care about their lives. But you have to take out their families.”

The Fox News morning crew appeared slightly jarred by Trump’s prescription, and co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck abruptly shifted the discussion to immigration — a topic on which the candidate’s chief proposal is also, essentially, collective punishment.



A Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday morning shows that Trump remains Republican voters’ top choice for commander-in-chief. At 27 percent support, the former reality star boasts a ten-point lead over his closest competitor, Florida senator Marco Rubio.