Conway: Trump Will ‘Get Tough’ on Refugee Terror Threat

Kellyanne Conway said President-Elect Donald Trump is prepared to “get tough” on U.S. refugee policies during an interview Tuesday on “The Laura Ingraham Show” in the aftermath of a deadly terrorist attack in Berlin.

Conway, a senior adviser to the Trump transition team and Trump’s former campaign manager, spoke of the latest “sad chapter in what continues to be the advance of ISIS” that occurred Monday when a truck driver in Berlin plowed into a crowd gathered at a Christmas market, killing 12 and injuring 48. Reports soon circulated stating that the man detained was an asylum-seeker from Pakistan.

“It’s a matter of putting aside the political correctness … that’s what this president is going to do — first protect America, Americans, American interests, and allies here and abroad.”

“So [Trump’s] going to get tough on [terrorism], and people won’t like what he has to say, but too bad,” Conway told LifeZette Editor-in-Chief Laura Ingraham. “In other words, most Americans — particularly those who rejected the elitism — they’re saying, yes, we need these tougher [immigration] policies. We need stronger vetting.”

Noting that ISIS bringing “carnage” and “bloodletting” to the Western world, Conway said that Trump’s tough and politically incorrect stances on illegal immigration and extreme vetting for incoming refugees played a key role in electing him to the presidency.

“People want toughness. They want specific policies,” Conway said. “[Trump] talks about extreme vetting. Essentially his point is there are countries that train and harbor and export terrorists — ISIS terrorists. And we have … very poor, if any, policies in place that allow us to know what’s going on there and who’s coming out of there and perhaps coming here.”

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And all that will change when Trump takes office on Jan. 20, Conway said.

“[Trump] also talks about locking arms with other allies across the globe to try to defeat radical Islamic terrorism. It’s a continuing concern,” Conway said. “Security was a big issue in his campaign and will be a big centerpiece of his presidency.”

Conway and Ingraham made sure to note the differences between clamping down on illegal immigration, allowing legal immigration, and enacting extreme vetting policies for incoming refugees from countries compromised by ISIS.

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“It’s a matter of putting aside the political correctness, frankly, and recognizing that. And that’s what this president is going to do — first protect America, Americans, American interests, and allies here and abroad,” Conway said.

“If people want to come here legally, go for it. We’re the most generous country in the world, practically, when it comes to legal immigration,” Conway continued. “That’s not what this issue is about. This issue is about knowing who lives among us and being fair to the American worker, but also being fair to a sovereign nation that has borders and whose protection of its people and its interests are the first duty of any president and commander-in-chief.”