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Donald Trump speaks during a March 8 press conference at the Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida. | Getty Trump: 'I think Islam hates us'

"I think Islam hates us," Donald Trump said Wednesday, in the candidate's latest pronouncement of caution against the religion practiced by some 3 million Americans.

During an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, the Republican presidential candidate addressed a series of policy issues, including being asked pointedly whether he believed Islam or more specifically its radical members to be "at war with the West."

"There's something there, there's a tremendous hatred there. There's a tremendous hatred. We have to get to the bottom of it. There is an unbelievable hatred of us," Trump said.

On whether he was referring to Islam itself or more radical factions, Trump told Cooper, "You're going to have to figure that out. You'll get another Pulitzer, right?"

While affirming that he is generally referring to "radical" Muslims, Trump called the distinction "very hard to define."

"It’s very hard to separate, because you don’t know who’s who," he said, referring to separate attacks in Paris and San Bernardino in late 2015.

Cooper then asked Trump about his recent about-face after previously stating that he would have the family members of terrorists killed. Trump released a statement last week saying that he would carry out his duties through legal means.

"I didn't reverse anything," Trump remarked. "No, no, I didn't reverse anything."

Trump said he is in "total support of waterboarding," but also that he would "expand the law" in order to make that legally permissible.