Parties denounce Trump’s anti-Muslim proposal
Republican and Democratic leaders leveled their most forceful criticism yet against Donald Trump on Tuesday, widely denouncing the GOP presidential front-runner’s call to bar Muslims from entering the United States and signaling that Trump’s anti-immigrant and antiIslamic rhetoric has agitated both parties more than ever.
At the White House, President Barack Obama’s top spokesman said Trump’s proposal “disqualifies him” from the presidency, marking a rare administration foray into the 2016 race. On Capitol Hill, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the idea was at odds with the
of their party and the United States as a whole.
In the space of a day, Trump’s role as a domestic political provocateur expanded to international agitator as he sent a firstof-its-kind signal abroad: The leading presidential contender in the opposition party wants to keep Muslims out of the United States.
Leaders across the globe condemned Trump as officials at home worried about the long-term implications of his actions. Trump called Monday for a “total and complete” ban on Muslims entering the United States until we “figure out what is going on.” He reiterated his overall view on Tuesday.
It was far from clear whether the proposed ban on Muslims would have a negative effect on Trump’s popularity, which has only grown as he has escalated his rhetoric against illegal immigrants and a host of other groups. Some of his rivals stepped carefully around his remarks, and many of his most vocal critics stopped short of refusing to back him if he is the Republican nominee.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Trump’s proposal “disqualifies him from serving as president,” declaring that his rhetoric is “harmful to the country” and makes it harder to “work in partnership” with AmericanMuslimleaders to identify potential threats.
Ryan, who typically stays out of the GOP presidential contest, madea strongly worded exception.
“Freedom of religion is a fundamental constitutional principle. It’s a founding principle of this country,” Ryan told reporters. “This is notconservatism. What was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for. And more importantly, it’s not what this country stands for.”
McConnell called proposals to bar visitors on the basis of their religion “completely inconsistent” with American values.
But neither Republican said he would rejectTrumpifhewonthenomination,and GOP senators facing difficult re-elections dodged questions about whether they would support the provocative businessman if he won the nomination. Almost all Republicans who were questioned tried to duck that possibility, saying only that they would support the eventual nominee.
After announcing his proposal — which he said was a response to recent terrorist attacks in Paris and California — he was greeted withadoration byhis legion of fans on Twitter and at a raucous rally Monday night in South Carolina. On Tuesday, Trump conducted a contentious round of morning news-show interviews in which he defended the idea against critics who have deemed it unconstitutional, illegal, racist, dangerous and un-American.
AlthoughTrump’saideshadinitiallysaid no one would be exempt from the “total” ban, the candidate began listing exceptions he would make. U.S. citizens who are Muslim and traveling abroad would be allowed to re-enter, along with Muslim members of the U.S. military returning from tours overseas. Muslim leaders of foreign countries wouldalso beallowed in, andexceptions wouldbemadeforathletes visiting the UnitedStatesfor competitions.
In the interviews, Trump performed as he usually does — deflecting questions, avoiding specifics and talking over the journalists trying to ask him questions. DuringaninterviewonMSNBC’s“Morning Joe” that lasted more than 30 minutes, host Joe Scarborough told Trump to stop talking so that he could ask the candidate a question, then cut to a commercial.
Corey Saylor, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, predicted that Trump’s comments would makeiteasier for the Islamic State terrorist group to radicalize potential recruits.
“IthinkthatTrump’sstatementisapropagandacoupforISIS,”hesaid.“Nodoubt in my mind about that.”
Some Democrats said Tuesday that the Republican Party is partly culpable in Trump’s rise.
“Republicans today are still saying they will support Trump if he is their nominee. Why? Because they are intimidated by his support and his supporters,” said Paul Begala, a strategist with the pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC Priorities USA Action. “Trumpmaybethemonster,buttheGOP establishment is the Dr. Frankenstein who created him.”
Many Republicans worry that Trump’s proposals — which have drawn comparisons to those of Adolf Hitler and to the internment of Japanese AmericansonU.S. soil during World War II — will do lasting damage to a party desperately trying to cast itself as more tolerant and open than in previous presidential elections.
Tom Ridge, a former Republican governor of Pennsylvania who became the first secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said Tuesday he would not vote for Trump. Ridge said that his anger over Trump’s popularity has been building for months and that he was frustrated that many fellow Republicans took so long to denounce the candidate’s rhetoric.
“I think the man is an embarrassment to my party,” said Ridge, who supports Trump’s rival Jeb Bush. “He’s an embarrassment to our country. We deserve better than this.”