Donald Trump: calls for ban on muslims entering America

The same day Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump  said America would be much safer with Hillary Clinton losing the presidential election, he proposed a complete and total ban on Muslims entering the United States.

It was his own  response to recent terrorist attacks.

But his proposal drew immediate rebuke from nearly every quarter for trampling on the religious freedom that is the founding principle of America.

In calling for border closure against members of the second-largest religious group in the world, Mr. Trump said the United States must get a handle on the hatred fueling Islamic terrorism.

The plan was swiftly met with condemnation from Mr. Trump’s Republican rivals, Democrats and others who denounced the idea as un-American and accused him of vilifying an entire religion.

Hillary Clinton tweeted:

Declaring war on Islam or demonizing Muslim Americans is not only counter to our values—it plays right into the hands of terrorists.

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) December 8, 2015

Kevin Johnson, dean of the University of California Davis School of Law and one of the nation’s leading immigration law scholars, said the proposal “hearkens back to some of our darkest days in our immigration history.”

Republican contender and Ohio Gov. John Kasich called it “just more of the outrageous divisiveness that characterizes his every breath and another reason why he is entirely unsuited to lead the United States.”

Mr. Kasich is the most outspoken critic of Mr. Trump. But this time he began a pile-on as the entire field of Republican presidential candidates seized on the proposal as a possible turning point for Mr. Trump’s unconventional campaign.

“There are folks in this race who don’t care about what the law says because they’re used to being able to just fire people indiscriminately on television,” Republican candidate and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on Michael Medved’s radio show.

“That’s a ridiculous position and one that won’t even be productive,” he said of the proposed ban on Muslims.

In Washington, there was no immediate reaction from dozens of foreign embassies of Muslim-populated nations, whose diplomatic staff travel in and out of the U.S. with fluid regularity.

The possibility that Mr. Trump had gone too far was enticing for the Republican establishment, which has grown terrified that he will win the nomination and doom the party to lose not only the White House contest but also down-ticket races.

Republican Party insiders are convinced that Mr. Trump is unelectable in the general election and the best chance for Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton to become president.

Shawn Steel, a member of the Republican National Committee from California, said Mr. Trump is “making no sense” and would be better off talking about his plans for protecting Christians who are being persecuted in the Middle East.

“Many of these Muslims who he wants to prohibit are at war with ISIS themselves,” Mr. Steel said. “So it is just typical Trump bombast.”

Still, Mr. Trump has built his campaign on violating political correctness and has grown more popular with each outrageous comment he makes.

What Mr Trump said: 

Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on. According to Pew Research, among others, there is great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population. Most recently, a poll from the Center for Security Policy released data showing “25% of those polled agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad” and 51% of those polled, “agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Shariah.” Shariah authorizes such atrocities as murder against non-believers who won’t convert, beheadings and more unthinkable acts that pose great harm to Americans, especially women.

Mr. Trump stated, “Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension. Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine. Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life. If I win the election for President, we are going to Make America Great Again.” – Donald J. Trump

*With reports by Washington Times