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This Article is From Dec 09, 2015

Donald Trump Plans Visit to Majority-Muslim Kingdom of Jordan

Donald Trump Plans Visit to Majority-Muslim Kingdom of Jordan
File photo of Donald Trump
Washington: Leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump plans to visit the majority-Muslim kingdom of Jordan at the end of December, The Associated Press has learned. The disclosure came one day after Trump's controversial proposal to temporarily ban all Muslims from entering the United States amid concerns about violent extremism.

Trump's visit to Jordan would take place as part of his trip to neighboring Israel, which he disclosed during an interview last week with the AP. It was not immediately clear whether Trump would meet with King Abdullah, but his campaign told U.S. government officials he wants the meeting.

Trump's campaign did not immediately respond to questions about the trip.

The U.S. government was making preparations based on Trump's plans. Trump has Secret Service protection for his safety.

Trump was widely criticized over his proposal this week to prevent all Muslims from visiting the U.S., although he clarified his idea Tuesday to say that he would allow foreign Muslim leaders to visit.

Jordan is among the United States' staunchest allies in the Persian Gulf region, and its military has regularly flown bombing missions against the Islamic State group. In February, a Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot, Lt. Mouath al-Kasaesbeh, was brutally burned to death inside a cage after his F-16 jet crashed over Syria. Jordan is also home to massive refugee camps for more than 600,000 Syrians who have fled the fighting.

Trump's Republican rival, Ben Carson, visited two camps for Syrian refugees in the Jordanian desert two weeks ago with no media coverage. Carson afterward praised Jordan for its generosity toward the refugees but said none should be brought to the United States.



 

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