A solid majority of Americans opposes Donald Trump’s plan to ban Muslims from entering the US, but Republicans are divided on the proposal, according to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll released Thursday.
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Muhammad Ali, one of the most famous athletes in history and a convert to Islam, returned to the public spotlight Wednesday night to say that political leaders have a responsibility to foster understanding about his religion.
He gets similar support from men (37 percent) and women (32 percent), although more support from older voters than younger ones.
“I have made a decision to postpone my trip to Israel and to schedule my meeting with Netanyahu at a later date after I become president of the US”, Trump wrote on Twitter.
In a televised address Sunday evening, President Barack Obama urged Americans to reject discrimination against Muslims: “Muslim Americans are our friends and our neighbors, our co-workers, our sports heroes”.
There’s an urban-rural divide, too: Just 13 percent of urban respondents and 27 percent of suburban respondents back Trump’s plan, compared with 41 percent of rural Americans.
“One of the first things I’d do in terms of executive order, if I win, will be to sign strong, strong statement that would go out to the country, out to the world”, he said. When moderators showed the 29 people in the group ads that attacked Trump, their backing for him remained solid. “He doesn’t know what’s going on”. “I don’t think we have time to wait until a nominee arrives, which could be as late, I don’t know, June or July, to then come up with an agenda to show the country who we are and what we believe in”.
In spite of Trump’s lead, his opponents say they’re not concerned.
But after hearing Trump’s proposal, Netanyahu reportedly began distancing himself from the Republican candidate, saying that he disagrees with Trump’s remarks and stating that Israel “respects all religions”. He was booed after refusing to endorse Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel.
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Peter Westmacott, the British ambassador to the United States, said “we are very proud of the Muslim community in the United Kingdom” adding that what extremist goups were doing had nothing to do with Islam. “I see that there’s no smoking and no drinking and their women wear dresses down to the floor”, Ali said at the time.
