"We have to fight so viciously and violently because we're dealing with violent people,” he said.
Trump then dove into specifics, expressing that while he supports waterboarding, he wants to use even harsher tactics.
"What do you think about waterboarding? I like it a lot," he told the cheering crowd. "I don't think it's tough enough."
Trump has previously expressed his support of torture, vowing during a primary debate to utilize the tactic — and worse.
"I would bring back waterboarding, and I'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding,” Trump said.
Trump’s statements ignore scores of research and studies that show torture is not an effective means for gathering information.
This consequently causes the victim's mind to focus only on functions essential to survival, suppressing any other thoughts or emotions.
In a book based on his research, O'Mara argues that any action that causes a victim's brain to undergo a constant state of stress "destroys the fabric of memory" itself, rendering torture useless.
"It is just about the worst possible means of retrieving information from people's memories," the book concludes.
Despite the evidence pointing to torture’s ineffectiveness, polls have shown that two-thirds of the American population believe the practice can be justified at times.
