The Slatest

[UPDATE] Donald Trump Denies Planning Trip to Jordan, a Middle Eastern Country That’s 97 Percent Muslim

Donald Trump on tour in the Middle East could be about to happen.

Photo by Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

Update, 8:15 p.m.: Donald Trump denies AP’s report on the Jordan visit, but says he will be traveling to Israel.

Original Post: Shortly after calling for a ban on Muslims coming the U.S., Donald Trump is reportedly taking his Muslim-baiting rhetoric on tour—to the Middle East. The Associated Press is reporting that Trump is planning on the standard tour of American presidential wannabes to Israel and is keen to tack on a visit to neighboring Jordan. Jordan is, of course, 97 percent Muslim. It’s unclear if Trump has Googled Jordan yet.

The trip is apparently being scheduled for later this month, which means Trump’s arrival in the Muslim world comes on the heels of his widely condemned remarks (though not by Ted Cruz) that would essentially require a religious test for those entering the U.S. The plan, if you want to call it that, unsurprisingly did not appear to be particularly well thought-through, and throughout the day Monday the real estate mogul haphazardly amended who would be impacted by his religious litmus test—Muslim American citizens? Muslim members of the U.S. army? Muslim foreign leaders?

It’s almost too ridiculous to recount, but Republicans continue to indicate that they might vote for the Donald, so here we are. Trump seems to have arrived at the conclusion that it would affect non-American Muslims, but American Muslims, including servicemen and women, would be required to return to the U.S. On Tuesday, it remained unclear whether Trump’s ban would still include heads of state from Muslim countries—Reuters reports yes, the AP no. If he still intends on banning Muslim leaders that could make this a bit awkward: Trump’s campaign wants a meeting with Jordanian leader King Abdullah.