Some of his best friends are Muslim
by digby
Trump said some Muslims are fabulous but there is a problem with militancy and it’s going to have to solved. And Putin is in Syria because he’s trying to take back places in the world he had long ago and has no respect for the president. It’s all about leadership and getting along with people. Also too, respect. And the problem is that Obama refuses to talk to foreign leaders. But you don’t want to start WWIII over Syria.
Donald Trump said Sunday that “radical Muslims” are a problem in the United States — even if all of the religion’s members aren’t — and said some Americans believe President Barack Obama is a Muslim.
“You have radicals that are doing things. I mean, it wasn’t people from Sweden that blew up the World Trade Center, Jake,” Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
His comments come after a controversy that erupted late last week when, at a Trump campaign event, a man said, “We have a problem in this country — it’s called Muslims.”
He defended his decision not to correct the man, saying, “It was a question that was asked in front of a totally packed house.”
Trump also said he has friends who are Muslims — but that the religion’s extreme elements are responsible for terrorist attacks.
“We do have a problem with radical Muslims, there’s no question about that,” Trump said Sunday.
Trump also wouldn’t say whether he believes — as the man at his campaign event falsely claimed — that President Barack Obama is a Muslim who wasn’t born in the United States. Obama is a Christian who was born in Hawaii.
Asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether he’d be comfortable with a Muslim president, Trump said: “Would I be comfortable? I don’t know if we have to address it right now. But I think it is certainly something that could happen. Some people have said it already happened, frankly — but of course you won’t agree with that” — a reference to Obama.
“I don’t talk about people’s faith. Now, in all fairness, he said he was a Christian and he said he is a Christian. He attended the church of Rev. Wright. And so, you know, I’m willing to take him at his word for that. I have no problem with that,” Trump said.
He deflected questions about Obama’s place of birth and religion on ABC’s “This Week,” too.
“Well, you know, I don’t get into it, George. I think about jobs. I’m talking about the military. I don’t get into it,” he said, when asked by host George Stephanopoulos whether he now believes Obama was born in the United States. “Frankly, it’s of no longer (of) interest to me. We’re beyond that. And it’s just something I don’t talk about.”
Asked about whether Obama isn’t a Muslim, Trump said, “George, you have raised the question. I haven’t raised the question. I don’t talk about it and I don’t like talking about somebody else’s faith. He talks about his faith and he can do that. But I don’t talk about other people’s faith. It’s not appropriate for me to talk about somebody else’s faith.”
Four years ago, Trump had pressed Obama to release his birth certificate — which Obama did.
But, as usual Ben Carson was even more extreme, he just said it quietly:
CHUCK TODD: Let me wrap this up by finally dealing with what’s been going on, Donald Trump, and a deal with a questioner that claimed that the president was Muslim. Let me ask you the question this way. Should a President’s faith matter? Should your faith matter to voters?
BEN CARSON: Well, I guess it depends on what that faith is. If it’s inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter. But if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the constitution, no problem.
TODD: So do you believe that Islam is consistent with the constitution?
CARSON: No, I don’t, I do not.
TODD: So you–
CARSON: I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.
That’s why they love him. If GOP voters hear about this he may bump back up in the polls.
As Judd Legum at Think Progress pithily explained:
In suggesting a religious test for potential presidents — where some religions would be “inconsistent” with the constitution — Carson appears somewhat unfamiliar with the text of the constitution. Article VI, paragraph 3 of the United States constitution states “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”
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