“This latest “outrage” from Trump is a ideal example of how he plays the media – how he knows exactly what to do and how to do it to own their attention and airtime”, Limbaugh said.
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But after top Republicans and almost the entire field of his presidential rivals condemned his recent proposal to ban Muslims from traveling to the U.S., Trump took to Twitter to remind them his loyalty only runs so deep.
Trump said there is “great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population”.
The Republican presidential front-runner has said he’d stick with the party, rather than launching an independent campaign for the presidency, as long as he is treated “fairly” in its nominating contest. A call to state GOP headquarters, which was referred to state chairman J.R. Romano, went unreturned on Tuesday.
Ryan’s comments illustrate the hard position Republicans face in 2016: How to distance themselves from Trump’s more controversial statements, while at the same time sticking to a pledge all 17 initial GOP presidential candidates signed in September, vowing to support their party’s eventual nominee.
On Monday, Trump issued a statement calling for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States”. “We should remember this chapter in history in order to never repeat the same injustice”, he said.
The proposed ban would apply to immigrants and visitors alike, a sweeping prohibition affecting all adherents of a religion practised by more than a billion people worldwide.
“Anything that bolsters ISIL’s narrative and pits the United States against the Muslim faith is certainly not only contrary to our values but contrary to our national security”, Cook told a news briefing, using an acronym for Islamic State.
“What I’m doing is no different than FDR”, Trump said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” programme. Democrats, meanwhile, blamed Republicans for Trump’s extreme language and warned it could help him with primary voters.
Since the November 13 attacks in Paris that killed 130 people and wounded hundreds, some other Republican presidential contenders have proposed restrictions on refugees and tighter surveillance in the U.S. But their proposals have not gone almost as far. CNN reports that a Duke University study found more terrorism suspects and perpetrators were brought to the attention of law enforcement by members of the Muslim-American community than were discovered through USA government investigations.
Later in the news conference, Ryan was asked whether he was concerned about Trump hurting the Republican Party.
Trump is facing some criticism here in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
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“What he said is disqualifying”, Earnest said.
