Trump's Muslim ban: From simple clarity to plain confusion

NEW YORK — From the moment he first declared it, the plan has been a signature of his campaign for president: "Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on."
Yet from that first moment, the Republican White House candidate has evaded questions when pressed for details. Now that he's a presumptive nominee with sliding poll numbers, his spokeswoman says he's no longer seeking the ban at all.
In its place, he's offering an approach based on a standard of terrorism that he and his campaign refuse to define.
The ban idea originated with 28 direct and forceful words, issued immediately after the December shootings in San Bernardino, California, that killed 14 people. The blanket nature of the proposal, which appeared to stretch beyond immigration to include any member of the Muslim faith seeking to cross the U.S. border, provoked a flurry of questions.
Would it apply to U.S. citizens traveling or living abroad? Members of the armed forces? What about foreign leaders seeking to visit the U.S., such as Jordan's King Abdullah II — a staunch American ally? Or Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai?
In response to questions that day from The Associated Press, Trump's campaign manager at the time, Corey Lewandowski, said the ban would apply to "everybody" — including tourists and Muslims seeking immigration visas.
Trump's campaign refused to respond to additional questions, including how the U.S. would determine a person's religious beliefs. Instead, Trump offered the following statement, delivered to AP via email: "Because I am so politically correct, I would never be the one to say. You figure it out!"