Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday doubled-down on his comments that Muslims should not be admitted to the United States until “we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses.”
Trump made the suggestion Monday that the United States should ban any Muslim from entering the country following the terror attacks in Paris and other foreign countries and the shootings in San Bernardino, Calif.
His campaign elaborated on his remarks releasing a statement that read: "Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on.”
During a contentious interview with CNN's Chris Cuomo on Tuesday, Trump said if Muslims were allowed to continue to enter the country it would be only a matter of time before another act of mass terror.
"You're going to have many more World Trade Centers if you don't solve it -- many, many more and probably beyond the World Trade Center," Trump said in the CNN interview.
#TrumponCNN became a top trending hashtag on Twitter.
Trump has been roundly criticized by fellow Republican presidential nominees and from nearly every political corner of the United States and beyond for calling for the ban.
At the campaign stop in South Carolina Monday, Trump told supporters, “We have no idea who is coming into our country, no idea if they like us or hate us,” “I wrote something today that is very salient…and probably not very politically correct. But I don’t care.”
Trump received thunderous applause from the crowd as he added, that, as Americans, “we have no choice." He warned the crowd that “we can be politically correct and stupid but it’s going to get worse and worse.”
According to The Associated Press, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said the proposed ban would apply to "everybody," including Muslims seeking immigration visas as well as tourists seeking to enter the country."
“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,” Trump said in a statement.
On Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan, (R-Wisc.), said of Trump, "That is not who we are as a party; that is not who we are as a country. Freedom of religion is fundamental constitutional principle. It's a founding principle of this country."
Other Republicans have joined the chorus calling Trump everything from dangerous to divisive.
Jeb Bush tweeted that Trump was "unhinged."
Marco Rubio condemned the "outlandish statements."
The Southern Baptist Convention issued a statement condemning Trump -- "Anyone who cares an iota about religious liberty should denounce this reckless, demagogic rhetoric. Make no mistake. A government that can shut down mosques simply because they are mosques can shut down Bible studies because they are Bible studies."
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community did likewise. "Mr. Trump's anti-Muslim immigration proposal is disappointing, unconstitutional, and empowers extremist ideology. It has no place in civilized American discourse," Qasim Rashid told FoxNews.com.
While his supporters back the concept, even they have tempered support for Trump’s means.
According to the Washington Post, Rep. Steve King, (R-Iowa), said, "We have to respect the rights of citizenship here in America," he said. "That's a constitutional principle that I wouldn't compromise on. Other than that, Mr. Trump has given some of us a little more room to operate."
King, a supporter of tighter U.S. borders, added, “We have a constitutional right to determine who comes to America and we can set out any criteria we want from a constitutional perspective, so let’s have a debate on how we protect America.”
The mayor of St. Petersburg, Fla., put his own ban in place Monday, saying the New York billionaire isn't welcomed in his town.
The AP quoted Rod Weader, a 68-year-old real estate agent from North Charleston who attended the rally Trump spoke at, saying he agreed with Trump's plan "150 percent."
"As he says, we have to find out who they are and why they are here," he said.
About the Author
