'Waterboarding is no different to hazing': Eric Trump backs up his father on bringing back torture technique and says similar things happen daily in frat houses

Eric Trump has backed up his father's position on bringing back waterboarding for terrorist suspects, claiming it is no worse than fraternity hazing.

Donald Trump has vowed to bring back waterboarding and 'a hell of a lot worse' if he is elected president.

Eric, 32, told Fox News the torture technique was 'no different' to what goes on in frat houses on a daily basis as he downplayed the interrogation method and called for it to be reinstated.

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Eric Trump has backed up his father's position on bringing back waterboarding for terrorists, claiming it is no worse than fraternity hazing He is pictured campaigning in New Hampshire on Tuesday with his wife Laura

'You see these terrorists that are flying planes into buildings. You see our cities getting shot up in California. You see Paris getting shot up,' Eric said. 

'And then somebody complains when a terrorist gets waterboarded, which quite frankly is no different than what happens on college campuses and frat houses every day.'

Eric, who was part of the Delta Sigma Pi fraternity at Georgetown University, insisted that if his father reintroduced waterboarding he could 'keep this country safe'.

Speaking of his father, Eric said: 'He's got amazing backbone, he’s a tough guy, he’s sick of the nonsense, and he wants to protect this country. 

'He’s sick of seeing what’s happening to this country, whether it be on trade, whether it be $19trillion worth of national debt, whether it be terrorists coming in and trying to infiltrate our country. I mean, he would be very, very, very, tough. I mean, that’s who the man is. He’s a very tough guy.'

Trump's third-born might not wrong to say waterboarding has been used during fraternity initiations. 

Donald Trump, pictured today at a polling place for the presidential primary in Manchester, New Hampshire, has vowed to bring back waterboarding and 'a hell of a lot worse' if he is elected president

In March last year, a rumor spread that the Sigma Chi chapter at the University of Houston was suspended following allegations a student was waterboarded with alcohol, Gawker reported.

The university would not give details about the 'disturbing allegations of hazing within the fraternity'.

There were similar claims at Binghamton University in New York in 2012, when police investigated reports that Alpha Pi Epsilon had waterboarded members.

According to the New York Times, a police report said the alleged hazing involved 'rigorous exercise, alcohol consumption, paddling and "waterboarding" where the pledges were being hosed down'.

'Information was also reported that some of the pledges had acquired pneumonia from the "waterboarding,"' the report said. 

Trump, who is currently campaigning in New Hampshire to become the Republican Party's presidential nominee, has thrice shown support for waterboarding over the last few days.

Speaking at the GOP debate on Saturday, Trump said: 'In the Middle East we have people chopping the heads off Christians, we have people chopping the heads off many other people, we have things that we have never seen before.

'We studied Medieval times, not since medieval times have people seen what's going on. 

'I would bring back waterboarding and I would bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding,' he added.

While Trump said he supported bringing back waterboarding, Ted Cruz (right) said it should be used sparingly

He brought up the subject again on Sunday as he spoke with CNN, saying he would ensure waterboarding was declassified as torture so it could be used on terror suspects.

'They're chopping off heads of Christians and many other people in the Middle East. They're chopping heads off, they laugh at us when they hear that we're not going to approve waterboarding and then they'll have a James Foley, and others, where they cut off their heads.'

James Foley was an American journalist who was beheaded by ISIS murderer Jihadi John in 2014. 

'You can say what you want,' Trump said. 'I have no doubt that it does work in term of information and other things. And maybe not always, not nothing works always. But I have no doubt that it works.'

'But more importantly, when they're chopping off the heads of people, and innocent people in most cases, "beyond waterboarding" is fine with me.'

Trump brought up waterboarding for a third time as he campaigned in New Hampshire this week.

'We have people in the Middle East who are chopping off the heads of Christians.

'Waterboarding is peanuts compared to what we're talking about. Waterboarding is fine and much tougher than that is fine too.'

His Republican rivals have been mixed on the subject. Ted Cruz said waterboarding should be used sparingly, Jeb Bush has said it should not be brought back at all, and Marco Rubio would not be drawn on the matter during Saturday's debate. 

Waterboarding was banned by the Obama administration in 2009, but had previously been used by the CIA during interrogations of terror suspects.