Trump surrogate is quietly courting Muslims to downplay controversy over ban  

  • Walid Phares, a Lebanese-born Christian who is a terrorism expert on Fox News, is opening up dialogues between Muslims and the Trump campaign
  • Phares told the Hill newspaper that Republican Muslims are open to backing Trump, they just need to hear more details 
  • In December, Trump called for a temporary ban on non-American Muslims entering the U.S., which didn't help him win  the support of Muslims

By Nikki Schwab, U.s. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com

Published: 05:04, 24 May 2016 | Updated: 05:09, 24 May 2016

Walid Phares, a top national security adviser for Donald Trump, is quietly talking to Muslims on behalf of the presumptive Republican nominee.

Phares told the Hill in an interview last week that the Trump campaign did not instruct him to hold these dialogues, but that they were an extension of his decades-long career working in Middle Eastern affairs.

‘Most of those who reached out said they want to support Mr. Trump, but they’re not clear about some of the statements he’s made,’ Phares told the newspaper.

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Walid Phares, a top national security adviser for Donald Trump, is doing outreach to the Muslim community, trying to persuade Muslim Republicans to back the GOP's presumptive nominee 

Walid Phares, a top national security adviser for Donald Trump, is doing outreach to the Muslim community, trying to persuade Muslim Republicans to back the GOP's presumptive nominee 

Trump called for a temporary ban on non-American Muslims entering the United States in December and lost support from that demographic of voters 

Trump called for a temporary ban on non-American Muslims entering the United States in December and lost support from that demographic of voters 

The boldest foreign policy pronouncement the Republican frontrunner made came in December on the heels of the San Bernardino, California terror attack.

Trump called for a temporary ban on non-American Muslims entering the United States, a position widely condemned by political foes on both sides of the aisle and many Muslims around the world.

Phares said, however, that Muslim Republicans and Middle Eastern conservatives, groups he’s started conversations with, are open to a Trump presidency, they just wanted more details, especially on the issue of how he’d treat their demographic group.

‘Most of those who reached out said they want to support Mr. Trump, but they’re not clear about some of the statements he’s made,’ Phares told the HIll.

‘These people know what they want – they’re concerned about the well-being of their communities and believe that Trump has the right economic and social agenda,’ he continued.

‘But they’re trying to get a handle on how he’ll deal with the Middle East,’ he added.

Phares is an interesting surrogate for The Donald, having also been an adviser to the GOP’s 2012 hopeful, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who has openly expressed his distaste for his 2016 successor.

The adviser was born in Lebanon and is a Christian, though he’s plugged into many Muslim circles as well.

He appears on the Fox News Channel as a terrorism expert.

And he generally has a good reputation from those in the know.

He’s already convinced some Muslims to board the Trump train as well.

Shireen Qudosi, a Muslim writer based in California, was contacted by Phares before the Indiana primary in hopes that she would endorse the billionaire.

Qudosi had cold feet at first, with many of her other Republican friends supporting Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

She told the Hill that she wasn’t sure if it was ‘worth the risk’ to endorse the former reality television star.

But once Cruz, and also Ohio Gov. John Kasich dropped out, leaving Trump the only Republican standing, Qudosi said that Phares had left her mostly convinced to back Trump, though she wrote a blog post expressing her mixed feelings.

‘His mannerism and language don’t always paint a pretty picture – but neither does the idea of a nuclear Iran, Yazidi sex slaves, more terrorist attacks, the Muslim Brotherhood, gross human rights violations, drone wars, etc.,’ Qudosi wrote.

She told the Hill newspaper that she liked that Trump challenged those Muslims who turned a blind eye to radical jihad and ‘Islamism.’