For years, Trump has wanted to send terrorists to the U.S. military detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He’s tweeted about it, spoken about it in interviews and promoted the idea on the campaign trail.

So after a green card holder inspired by the self-described Islamic State drove a truck through a Manhattan bike lane, killing eight people, it wasn’t a huge surprise that Trump told reporters he’d consider sending the attacker to Gitmo; after all, it serves his anti-Muslim agenda.

But within 24 hours, Trump retreated. “Would love to send the NYC terrorist to Guantanamo,” Trump tweeted, “but statistically that process takes much longer than going through the Federal system.” 

It would indeed take longer. No one has been sent to Guantanamo in nine years; doing so would set off a legal battle. And setting aside the question of whether sending a legal permanent resident arrested in the United States to Guantanamo would even be legal, it would undoubtedly take much, much longer to secure justice for the victims’ families.

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