Vows to authorize "hell of a lot worse than waterboarding"

Following a debate pledge to bring back waterboarding, Trump doubled down in media appearances and at campaign events, declaring that he would authorize "a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding" because "it works." He dismissed legal and moral concerns about torture, calling current restrictions "peanuts" compared to ISIS tactics and framing the embrace of war crimes as a necessary show of strength. This rhetoric moved the Republican primary discussion toward an open embrace of state-sanctioned torture.

"I would bring back waterboarding, and I’d bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding." — Republican debate in Manchester, NH (Feb 6) and subsequent doubling down on Feb 8