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Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, said Wednesday night that an idea floated by Donald J. Trump to form a commission on “radical Islam” was “a good step,” and did not rule out the possibility of leading it if Mr. Trump asked him to.

In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said that if he won the presidency, he might consider Mr. Giuliani to lead such a commission, which he said would “take a very serious look” at Islamic terrorism.

After the terrorist attacks in Paris last year, Mr. Trump proposed temporarily barring foreign Muslims from entering the United States, though he softened his stance a little on Wednesday, saying that it was “just a suggestion.”

At an event in Manhattan kicking off a vintage watch sales venture for one of his former senior advisers, Mr. Giuliani said that the Trump campaign “has to comment on what it wants to do, but I believe that wherever this goes, and I don’t know where it’ll go, this is a good step.”

At the event, Mr. Giuliani begrudgingly gave away a watch he owned that had belonged to the New York Giants shortstop Dick Bartell. Before parting with the watch, he spoke to more than 150 attendees bathed in red and purple light and snacking on edamame dumplings and sushi.

Though Mr. Trump did not outline in the Fox News interview what the commission on radical Islam would address, Mr. Giuliani, who said he had voted for Mr. Trump in the New York primary but has not officially endorsed him, did not mind elaborating on some possibilities.

“I think the idea of studying how we can best deal with radical Islam, and try to figure how to distinguish between all the good people who are Muslims and the bad ones, is a good idea,” he said.

He was quick to add, however, that he had taken steps to protect Muslims in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

“I’ve been trying to remind people that on the night of Sept. 11, I said that nobody in New York should take action against anyone who’s Arab, because we shouldn’t engage in group blame,” Mr. Giuliani said, adding that he had assigned officers to protect Muslims.

After making his remarks, Mr. Giuliani meandered his way through the packed event’s attendees, pausing for photographs. Before getting into his car, he was asked for his reaction to the prospect of being chosen by Mr. Trump.

“I don’t know,” Mr. Giuliani said. “He says a lot of things, and we’ll see what happens.”