On Monday afternoon, Donald Trump announced a new policy platform: No more Muslims. The ensuing nonsensical statement is, incredibly, not a joke.

In the statement, which was apparently emailed to reporters, Trump tosses aside “various polling data,” explaining that instinct is telling him what this country needs is a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”

(The proposed ban applies to Muslim immigrants and tourists alike, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski tells the AP.)

What prompted this new, oddly-timed, oddly-worded so-called policy announcement? Only Trump can say. In other news, Ted Cruz beat Trump in a Monmouth University poll of Iowa Republicans today.

Here’s the statement in full:

According to the New York Times, a Trump spokeswoman says the proposal was prompted by “death.”

Image via AP. Contact the author at gabrielle@gawker.com.