But London Mayor Boris Johnson, a Conservative, said Trump’s “ill-informed comments are complete and utter nonsense”.
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John Kasich slammed Mr Trump’s “outrageous divisiveness”, while a more measured Ted Cruz, who has always been cautious about upsetting the tycoon’s supporters, said: “Well, that is not my policy”.
During the White House news briefing, Earnest said that Trump’s proposal to bar the entry of Muslims into the country amounts to an unconstitutional religious test and renders him unfit for the presidency.
Wisconsin Republicans scrambled Tuesday to distance themselves from their party’s presidential front-runner, Donald Trump, and his plan to block all Muslims from entering the U.S.
“What was proposed yesterday: This is not conservatism”, he said.
Priebus, of Kenosha, told the Washington Examiner “I don’t agree” with Trump’s plan.
When asked how his proposed ban would be executed, Trump offered a vague answer: “It could happen at the site [of origin, ] it could happen here, it could happen in many different forms”.
“If you happen to be a Christian in Syria, it’s nearly impossible to come into this country”, Trump said.
It follows Mr Trump’s other controversial comments, including his call for a national database of Muslims following the Paris attacks – drawing comparisons with Hitler’s treatment of the Jews in Nazi Germany. “America needs a leader that will unite us, not divide us”, Kasich said.
In keeping with that philosophy, Trump is doubling down on his Muslim immigration ban – telling CNN during a contentious interview that he stands by his proposal and doesn’t care what the “Republican” establishment thinks of it.
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Trump said Muslims should not be allowed “until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the risky threat it poses”. They don’t know… If a person is a Muslim, and goes overseas and comes back, they can come back. Trump said that he does not support such internment. On “Morning Joe”, he got into a heated exchange with host Joe Scarborough, at one point leading to Scarborough ordering a commercial break because Trump would not stop speaking.
