Posted on December 8, 2015

Republicans’ Most Senior Leader Disowns Trump for Demand to Ban All Muslims

Francesca Chambers, Daily Mail, December 8, 2015

The most senior Republican leader today rebuked Donald Trump over his call to bar Muslims from entering the US.

Speaker Paul Ryan broke a self-imposed silence on the race for his party’s presidential candidacy to condemn the Republican front-runner’s call saying it was ‘not what this party stands for and more importantly it’s not what this country stands for’.

Ryan spoke hours after a defiant Trump doubled down in a series of morning television show interviews, saying the country was ‘at war’ and could not afford another 9/11.

The Republican presidential hopeful phoned three morning television shows to defend his call–and claimed he was ‘making us look strong’.

He said that his plan to indefinitely ban Muslims from entering the country is necessary to prevent another 9/11 style attack and rejected comparisons to Hitler.

‘We are now at war,’ he said on Good Morning America. ‘We have a president that doesn’t want to say that, but we are now at war.’

And he said his proposal was little different than Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s executive orders after the bombing of Pearl Harbor that put restrictions on migrants from enemy countries, mainly Japan. Thousands of Japanese-Americans spent the war in internment camps.

But Ryan–who as House Speaker third in line to the presidency and therefore his party’s most senior elected official–rebuked Trump this morning saying he was not being true to the ‘country’s principles’;

The Republican said many Muslims serve the country in the military and work in Congress ‘the vast, vast, vast majority of whom are peaceful, who believe in pluralism, freedom, democracy, individual rights’.

Asked if he will support Trump if he were to become the nominee, Ryan said he will support whomever the Republicans nominate for the presidency.

Ryan, the GOP’s 2012 vice presidential nominee, dismissed a question about whether Trump’s comments might cause lasting damage for the GOP.

‘I’m not concerned about lasting damage to the party. I’m concerned about standing up for our country’s principles,’ Ryan said.

‘These are first principles, and our party is dedicated to these first principles. And that’s why I think it’s incumbent upon leaders of our party like myself to stand up and defend what conservatism is and what the Republican Party stands for.’

He used a closed-door meeting with the Republican Congressional caucus to tell them to steer clear of backing Trump’s call–another rare move indicating the depth of unease in the party establishment.

Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican congressman, told the Associated Press that Ryan told Republicans ‘not to go down that road’.

‘That’s not who we are as a country or who we are as a party–that religious liberty is a fundamental American right and that we should never compromise on that front and that’s an inappropriate policy to pursue. He was very direct and very strong.’

Matt Salmon of Arizona told reporters that Ryan told the weekly closed-door meeting of the House GOP that Trump’s proposal would violate at least two constitutional amendments.

And White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest spent the better part of his briefing with reporters on Tuesday addressing Trump’s comments.

The president’s spokesman said not only is it ‘offensive’, it ‘disqualifies him’ from serving as president.

Earnest said Trump’s comments disqualify the entire GOP field, which has taken an oath to support whoever the Republican nominee is, if they do not back away from that pledge.

The White House has made a point of refraining from commenting on many of the 2016 candidates’ charges, even when they invoke the president. But Earnest lit into Trump repeatedly today, calling his rhetoric ‘toxic’ and mocking his appearance.

‘The Trump campaign for months now has had a dustbin-of-history-like quality to it, from the vacuous sloganeering, to the outright lies, to even the fake hair, the whole carnival barker routine that we’ve seen for some time now,’ he said.

‘The question now is about the rest of the Republican party and whether they’re going to be dragged into the dustbin of history with him.

‘Now I know that each of the Republican candidates has already taken an oath pledging to support Donald Trump for president of the United States if he wins the nomination, but the fact is the first thing a president does when he or she takes the oath of office is to swear an oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States and the fact is, what Donald Trump said yesterday, disqualifies him from serving as president.’

But Trump offered no concession in a string of television appearances this morning in which he compared himself to FDR.

‘This is a president highly respected by all, he did the same thing,’ Trump told GMA’s George Stephanopoulos. ‘If you look at what he was doing, it was far worse.’

FDR authorized the Department of Justice to place Germans, Japanese and Italians in internment camps during the international fight.

The second World War ended in May of 1945, but the last camp did not close until 1948. Japanese-Americans were worst affected.

Trump said he would not put Muslims in internment camps and clarified today that American citizens who follow Islam would not be prevented from coming and going, only foreigners.

He refused to say whether he thought internment camps were a violation of America’s values, however, and would not say how long he expected his ban to remain in place.

The businessman insisted that it would be ‘temporary,’ though, and told the Morning Joe round table that it could be over in a matter of weeks if lawmakers get their act together quickly.

‘We need people to get their arms around the situation,’ he said.

Trump also claimed in interviews this morning that areas of Paris had been so ‘radicalized’ that even the police won’t enter them.

Asked by Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough where he obtained that information, Trump said, ‘It’s all over the place.’

It’s ‘well-known, well-documented,’ Trump told him. ‘I’ll get you the information.’

Told the same thing about certain areas of Paris, CNN’s Chris Cuomo said, ‘We are well aware’ as he tried to move on.

‘Wait a minute, Chris. You’re well aware. You say that so routinely. You’re well aware,’ a surprised Trump said to him over the phone.

The New Day host validated Trump’s claims in his response as he said, ‘I’ve been on the ground, I’ve been in those communities, I’ve talked to the French authorities.’

‘It’s totally out of control. It’s so dangerous,’ Trump replied. Cuomo shot back, ‘Well, that’s what you say.’

‘The police are all over that country right now and they’re doing a lot of policing,’ Cuomo said. ‘But more importantly to your point, I would say it’s the opposite reality.’

Cuomo said he’s observed ‘the French being more embracing of people around them, you see them living their lives, you see them refusing to accept fear as a basis for behavior.’

‘What you’re doing in the country that is known as a symbol of freedom, is saying we’re too afraid to be inclusive,’ he said. ‘We’re going to reject the promise of America and ban an entire religion . . . It seems as though you’re acting out of fear, not making us look strong, and rejecting what America is all about.’

Britain is not doing this, he said, neither is France.

‘No, I’m making us look strong, Chris. And don’t tell me about Paris. Paris is under tremendous siege. They are absolutely in fear in Paris,’ Trump contended.

The businessman said he has friends in Paris, and ‘they want to leave, they’re petrified.’

Yes, but France isn’t banning all Muslims, Cuomo again pointed out.

‘Well, let’s see, maybe they’re going to have to. Maybe they’re going to have to do something,’ Trump told him.

Since Trump unveiled the proposal yesterday, GOP party leaders in three major states have distanced themselves from his plan. The bulk of Trump’s competitors within the Republican Party have denounced it, too.

Jeb Bush said Trump was ‘unhinged’. Marco Rubio said his plan was ‘outlandish.’ John Kasich said it was ‘outrageous’ and proves Trump is ‘entirely unsuited’ to be president.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican running for president, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who is seeking the Democratic nomination, both called Trump’s ban ‘dangerous’.

Hillary Clinton said on Twitter that his proposal was ‘reprehensible, prejudiced and divisive.’

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in an appearance on MSNBC that Trump was ‘seeking to tap into a darker side, a darker element, and try to play on people’s fears in order to build support for his campaign.’

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called a press conference. At it, Nihad Awad, the group’s executive director, said, ‘This is outrageous coming from someone who wants to assume the highest office in the land.’

‘It is reckless and simply un-American, ‘ he said. ‘Donald Trump sounds more like a leader of a lynch mob than a great nation like ours.’

Martin O’Malley, the former Maryland governor competing for the Democratic nomination, said the notion ‘removes all doubt’–Trump is running for President as a fascist demagogue.’

Trump paid no mind to his critics morning and asserted that Republicans disparaging him now, would soon be on his side, just like they were on immigration.

‘They said the same thing when I said we have to have strong borders,’ he declared on MSNBC.

Since the Paris terrorist attack last month other leading Republican 2016 candidates, including Ben Carson and Ted Cruz, have introduced plans to keep Syrian refugees out of the country.

Cruz in particular articulated support for a religious test that would bar Muslim believers from migrating here as the United States fights ISIS.

Trump told Morning Joe’s Willie Geist that he’d determine which migrants were Muslim by asking them their religion at customs.

But even Trump has admitted in the past that it’s difficult to discern the religion of refugees and other migrants.

In an interview with Barbara Walters after the Paris massacre he said: ‘The problem is we don’t know if they’re Christian or not.’

Trump’s initial statement on the ban, released late yesterday afternoon, offered few details, aside from his call for a ‘total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.’

It cited a poll from the Center for Security Policy that found a quarter of Muslims ‘agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad’ and roughly half ‘agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Shariah.’

Sharia Law finds its basis in religious teachings and allows for violent punishment such as beheading for actions listed as amoral by the code of conduct.

‘Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension, ‘ Trump said yesterday.

‘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.’

On New Day Cuomo called the validity of the organization into question and said, ‘Donald, we wouldn’t even put that poll on the air. It’s a hack organization with a guy who was dismissed from the conservative circles for conspiracy theories.’

Responding to Trump’s plan yesterday, Ben Carson said, ‘Everyone visiting our country should register and be monitored during their stay as is done in many countries.’

But he said, ‘I do not and would not advocate being selective on one’s religion.’

Amid the hullabaloo, House Speaker Paul Ryan said at a press conference that Trump’s proposition is ‘not who we are as a party.’

‘This is not conservatism,’ the GOP leaders said, according to CNN. ‘Some of our best and biggest allies in this struggle and fight against radical Islam terror are Muslims.’

Trump’s proposition comes less than a week after the San Bernardino massacre, under investigation by federal authorities as an act of terrorism, that was carried out by two local Muslim residents.

One, Syed Rizwan Farook, was a U.S. citizen, his wife Pakistan-born wife was a legal U.S. resident. The couple met online and he brought her to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia on a fiance visa.

During an interview on Fox News last night with Greta Van Susteren Trump noted that neighbors of the San Bernardino shooters believed they were behaving suspiciously but didn’t want to ‘racially profile’ the Muslim couple.

‘Everybody knew that something bad was going to happen, but for the sake of political correctness, or whatever you want to call it, there were people who knew what was going on [who] refused to report these people,’ Trump said.

Today he claimed racial profiling wasn’t the issue at all.

That’s ‘an excuse,’ he said on GMA. ‘I think they knew.’

On New Day he said, ‘the people that said that, I think in their own way, they’re guilty. The mother knew, the parents knew. Everybody knew. Now even his father is under watch.’

In his interviews this morning on ABC News and CNN, it was Trump who did most of the talking, barely giving the GMA and New Day hosts who were supposed to be interviewing him an opportunity to speak.

Stephanopoulos and New Day’s Chris Cuomo were visibly irritated, but they gave the prize cow of the presidential race wide latitude to roam.

On MSNBC Trump found a green pasture, but was penned in early on by Scarborough after repeatedly interrupting.

‘You’ve got to let us ask questions,’ the show’s namesake told him. ‘You’re just talking.’

Trump disagreed with the MSNBC host’s take on the situation, and said, ‘No, no, Joe, I’m not just talking. Joe, I’m not just talking. I’m giving you the facts.’

Scarborough warned him that if he didn’t back off, he’d cut to commercial, but Trump was unwavering in his stance.

‘Go to break then, Joe,’ he said. ‘All I’m doing is giving you the facts. And you don’t want to hear the facts.’

True to his word, Scarborough told producers to end the live broadcast, and the show went into break. Shortly afterward, the Morning Joe crew returned–along with Trump

The most senior Republican leader today rebuked Donald Trump over his call to bar Muslims from entering the US.

Speaker Paul Ryan broke a self-imposed silence on the race for his party’s presidential candidacy to condemn the Republican front-runner’s call saying it was ‘not what this party stands for and more importantly it’s not what this country stands for’.

Ryan spoke hours after a defiant Trump doubled down in a series of morning television show interviews, saying the country was ‘at war’ and could not afford another 9/11.

The Republican presidential hopeful phoned three morning television shows to defend his call–and claimed he was making ‘making us look strong’.

He said that his plan to indefinitely ban Muslims from entering the country is necessary to prevent another 9/11 style attack and rejected comparisons to Hitler.

‘We are now at war,’ he said on Good Morning America. ‘We have a president that doesn’t want to say that, but we are now at war.’

And he said his proposal was little different than Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s executive orders after the bombing of Pearl Harbor that put restrictions on migrants from enemy countries, mainly Japan. Thousands of Japanese-Americans spent the war in internment camps.

But Ryan–who as House Speaker third in line to the presidency and therefore his party’s most senior elected official–rebuked Trump this morning saying he was not being true to the ‘country’s principles’;

The Republican said many Muslims serve the country in the military and work in Congress ‘the vast, vast, vast majority of whom are peaceful, who believe in pluralism, freedom, democracy, individual rights’.

Asked if he will support Trump if he were to become the nominee, Ryan said he will support whomever the Republicans nominate for the presidency.

Ryan, the GOP’s 2012 vice presidential nominee, dismissed a question about whether Trump’s comments might cause lasting damage for the GOP.

‘I’m not concerned about lasting damage to the party. I’m concerned about standing up for our country’s principles,’ Ryan said.

‘These are first principles, and our party is dedicated to these first principles. And that’s why I think it’s incumbent upon leaders of our party like myself to stand up and defend what conservatism is and what the Republican Party stands for.’

He used a closed-door meeting with the Republican Congressional caucus to tell them to steer clear of backing Trump’s call–another rare move indicating the depth of unease in the party establishment.

Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican congressman, told the Associated Press that Ryan told Republicans ‘not to go down that road’.

‘That’s not who we are as a country or who we are as a party — that religious liberty is a fundamental American right and that we should never compromise on that front and that’s an inappropriate policy to pursue. He was very direct and very strong.’

Matt Salmon of Arizona told reporters that Ryan told the weekly closed-door meeting of the House GOP that Trump’s proposal would violate at least two constitutional amendments.

And White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest spent the better part of his briefing with reporters on Tuesday addressing Trump’s comments.

The president’s spokesman said not only is it ‘offensive’, it ‘disqualifies him’ from serving as president.

Earnest said Trump’s comments disqualify the entire GOP field, which has taken an oath to support whoever the Republican nominee is, if they do not back away from that pledge.

The White House has made a point of refraining from commenting on many of the 2016 candidates’ charges, even when they invoke the president. But Earnest lit into Trump repeatedly today, calling his rhetoric ‘toxic’ and mocking his appearance.

‘The Trump campaign for months now has had a dustbin-of-history-like quality to it, from the vacuous sloganeering, to the outright lies, to even the fake hair, the whole carnival barker routine that we’ve seen for some time now,’ he said.

‘The question now is about the rest of the Republican party and whether they’re going to be dragged into the dustbin of history with him.

‘Now I know that each of the Republican candidates has already taken an oath pledging to support Donald Trump for president of the United States if he wins the nomination, but the fact is the first thing a president does when he or she takes the oath of office is to swear an oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States and the fact is, what Donald Trump said yesterday, disqualifies him from serving as president.’

But Trump offered no concession in a string of television appearances this morning in which he compared himself to FDR.

‘This is a president highly respected by all, he did the same thing,’ Trump told GMA’s George Stephanopoulos. ‘If you look at what he was doing, it was far worse.’

FDR authorized the Department of Justice to place Germans, Japanese and Italians in internment camps during the international fight.

The second World War ended in May of 1945, but the last camp did not close until 1948. Japanese-Americans were worst affected.

Trump said he would not put Muslims in internment camps and clarified today that American citizens who follow Islam would not be prevented from coming and going, only foreigners.

He refused to say whether he thought internment camps were a violation of America’s values. however, and would not say how long he expected his ban to remain in place.

The businessman insisted that it would be ‘temporary,’ though, and told the Morning Joe round table that it could be over in a matter of weeks if lawmakers get their act together quickly

‘We need people to get their arms around the situation,’ he said.

Trump also claimed in interviews this morning that areas of Paris had been so ‘radicalized’ that even the police won’t enter them.

Asked by Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough where he obtained that information, Trump said, ‘It’s all over the place.’

It’s ‘well-known, well-documented,’ Trump told him. ‘I’ll get you the information.’

Told the same thing about certain areas of Paris, CNN’s Chris Cuomo said, ‘We are well aware’ as he tried to move on.

‘Wait a minute, Chris. You’re well aware. You say that so routinely. You’re well aware,’ a surprised Trump said to him over the phone.

The New Day host validated Trump’s claims in his response as he said, ‘I’ve been on the ground, I’ve been in those communities, I’ve talked to the French authorities.’

‘It’s totally out of control. It’s so dangerous,’ Trump replied. Cuomo shot back, ‘Well, that’s what you say.’

‘The police are all over that country right now and they’re doing a lot of policing,’ Cuomo said. ‘But more importantly to your point, I would say it’s the opposite reality.’

Cuomo said he’s observed ‘the French being more embracing of people around them, you see them living their lives, you see them refusing to accept fear as a basis for behavior.’

‘What you’re doing in the country that is known as a symbol of freedom, is saying we’re too afraid to be inclusive,’ he said. ‘We’re going to reject the promise of America and ban an entire religion…It seems as though you’re acting out of fear, not making us look strong, and rejecting what America is all about.’

Britain is not doing this, he said, neither is France.

‘No, I’m making us look strong, Chris. And don’t tell me about Paris. Paris is under tremendous siege. They are absolutely in fear in Paris,’ Trump contended.

The businessman said he has friends in Paris, and ‘they want to leave, they’re petrified.’

Yes, but France isn’t banning all Muslims, Cuomo again pointed out.

‘Well, let’s see, maybe they’re going to have to. Maybe they’re going to have to do something,’ Trump told him.

Since Trump unveiled the proposal yesterday, GOP party leaders in three major states have distanced themselves from his plan. The bulk of Trump’s competitors within the Republican Party have denounced it, too.

Jeb Bush said Trump was ‘unhinged’. Marco Rubio said his plan was ‘outlandish.’ John Kasich said it was ‘outrageous’ and proves Trump is ‘entirely unsuited’ to be president.

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican running for president, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who is seeking the Democratic nomination, both called Trump’s ban ‘dangerous’.

Hillary Clinton said on Twitter that his proposal was ‘reprehensible, prejudiced and divisive.’

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in an appearance on MSNBC that Trump was ‘seeking to tap into a darker side, a darker element, and try to play on people’s fears in order to build support for his campaign.’

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called a press conference. At it, Nihad Awad, the group’s executive director, said, ‘This is outrageous coming from someone who wants to assume the highest office in the land.’

‘It is reckless and simply un-American, ‘ he said. ‘Donald Trump sounds more like a leader of a lynch mob than a great nation like ours.’

Martin O’Malley, the former Maryland governor competing for the Democratic nomination, said the notion ‘removes all doubt’–Trump is running for President as a fascist demagogue.’

Trump paid no mind to his critics morning and asserted that Republicans disparaging him now, would soon be on his side, just like they were on immigration.

‘They said the same thing when I said we have to have strong borders,’ he declared on MSNBC.

Since the Paris terrorist attack last month other leading Republican 2016 candidates, including Ben Carson and Ted Cruz, have introduced plans to keep Syrian refugees out of the country.

Cruz in particular articulated support for a religious test that would bar Muslim believers from migrating here as the United States fights ISIS.

Trump told Morning Joe’s Willie Geist that he’d determine which migrants were Muslim by asking them their religion at customs.

But even Trump has admitted in the past that it’s difficult to discern the religion of refugees and other migrants.

In an interview with Barbara Walters after the Paris massacre he said: ‘The problem is we don’t know if they’re Christian or not.’

Trump’s initial statement on the ban, released late yesterday afternoon, offered few details, aside from his call for a ‘total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.’

It cited a poll from the Center for Security Policy that found a quarter of Muslims ‘agreed that violence against Americans here in the United States is justified as a part of the global jihad’ and roughly half ‘agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Shariah.’

Sharia Law finds its basis in religious teachings and allows for violent punishment such as beheading for actions listed as amoral by the code of conduct.

‘Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension, ‘ Trump said yesterday.

‘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.’

On New Day Cuomo called the validity of the organization into question and said, ‘Donald, we wouldn’t even put that poll on the air. It’s a hack organization with a guy who was dismissed from the conservative circles for conspiracy theories.’

Responding to Trump’s plan yesterday, Ben Carson said, ‘Everyone visiting our country should register and be monitored during their stay as is done in many countries.’

But he said, ‘I do not and would not advocate being selective on one’s religion.’

Amid the hullabaloo, House Speaker Paul Ryan said at a press conference that Trump’s proposition is ‘not who we are as a party.’

‘This is not conservatism,’ the GOP leaders said, according to CNN. ‘Some of our best and biggest allies in this struggle and fight against radical Islam terror are Muslims.’

Trump’s proposition comes less than a week after the San Bernardino massacre, under investigation by federal authorities as an act of terrorism, that was carried out by two local Muslim residents.

One, Syed Rizwan Farook, was a U.S. citizen, his wife Pakistan-born wife was a legal U.S. resident. The couple met online and he brought her to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia on a fiance visa.

During an interview on Fox News last night with Greta Van Susteren Trump noted that neighbors of the San Bernardino shooters believed they were behaving suspiciously but didn’t want to ‘racially profile’ the Muslim couple.

‘Everybody knew that something bad was going to happen, but for the sake of political correctness, or whatever you want to call it, there were people who knew what was going on [who] refused to report these people,’ Trump said.

Today he claimed racial profiling wasn’t the issue at all.

That’s ‘an excuse,’ he said on GMA. ‘I think they knew.’

On New Day he said, ‘the people that said that, I think in their own way, they’re guilty. The mother knew, the parents knew. Everybody knew. Now even his father is under watch.’

In his interviews this morning on ABC News and CNN, it was Trump who did most of the talking, barely giving the GMA and New Day hosts who were supposed to be interviewing him an opportunity to speak.

Stephanopoulos and New Day’s Chris Cuomo were visibly irritated, but they gave the prize cow of the presidential race wide latitude to roam.

On MSNBC Trump found a green pasture, but was penned in early on by Scarborough after repeatedly interrupting.

‘You’ve got to let us ask questions,’ the show’s namesake told him. ‘You’re just talking.’

Trump disagreed with the MSNBC host’s take on the situation, and said, ‘No, no, Joe, I’m not just talking. Joe, I’m not just talking. I’m giving you the facts.’

Scarborough warned him that if he didn’t back off, he’d cut to commercial, but Trump was unwavering in his stance.

‘Go to break then, Joe,’ he said. ‘All I’m doing is giving you the facts. And you don’t want to hear the facts.’

True to his word, Scarborough told producers to end the live broadcast, and the show went into break. Shortly afterward, the Morning Joe crew returned–along with Trump–and the interview proceeded as if nothing had happened.