BacklashTrump calls for barring all Muslims from entering U.S. (updated)
In an extraordinary rhetorical escalation Donald Trump on Monday called for a “total and complete” ban on Muslims entering the United States because, he argued, Islam is rooted in hatred and violence. The ban should be in place until the country’s leaders and security agencies can “figure out what is going on.” Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told the Associated Press that the ban would apply to “everybody,” including both immigrants and tourists.
Donald Trump on the stump // Source: georgetown.edu
In an extraordinary rhetorical escalation even for a presidential candidate not known for nuance and subtlety, Donald Trump on Monday called for a “total and complete” ban on Muslims entering the United States because, he argued, Islam is rooted in hatred and violence. The ban should have no exceptions, and should be imposed until the country’s leaders and security agencies can “figure out what is going on.”
In a statement release Monday evening, Trump said that “it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension.”
“Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine,” he continued. “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.”
Trump’s candidacy has been helped so far by the candidate’s vitriol against Muslims and immigrants, but some observers have said that he may have gone too far this time.
Trump said that a recent poll shows that a sizable segment of the Muslim population has “great hatred towards Americans.”
“Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension,” the Washington Post reportsTrump to have said. “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,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Trump told the Post that the statements were authentic. According to the spokeswoman, when a reporter asked Trump what prompted him to call for a total ban on Muslims, Trump said, “death.”
Trump’s campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told the Associated Press that the ban would apply to “everybody,” including both immigrants and tourists.
Immigration law, security, and policy experts expressed their shock and dismay at Trump’s proposal. Legal scholars said any plan to ban Muslims from entering the United States would violate both U.S. and international law and would never be allowed by the courts.
