Donald Trump's call to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. until politicians can "figure out what is going on" has forced the Republican Party to confront a new debate about terrorism in a presidential race suddenly reshaped by a growing fear of the Islamic State.
Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina, who staged a rally in Atlanta on Tuesday, plunged into the divide by characterizing Trump’s stance as a part of a pattern of controversial blather meant to soak up media attention.
“People are drawn to it because people say, ‘Why he sounds tough,’” Fiorina told a group of about 150 supporters at Georgia Tech. “(But) he’s never willing to tell us what he’s going to do. He’s never held accountable for what he says.”
GOP hopeful Ben Carson, who spoke to more than 2,000 people Tuesday night at the Cobb Energy Center, called for all-out war against Islamic extremists who threaten the U.S.
“The radical Islamic jihadists are an existential threat to this country. And we have to treat them like that – and understand what’s driving them,” he said, adding: “This country is worth saving.”
The coordinated terror attacks in Paris in November that left 130 people dead transformed a presidential debate that had revolved around domestic issues into a race focused on foreign policy.
The Islamic State, the terror group that has retained control of vast parts of Iraq and Syria despite an air strike campaign led by the U.S., claimed responsibility for the murders.
But last week's deadly spree in San Bernardino, Calif. by a husband-and-wife team that the FBI says were "radicalized" by the terror group sharpened the debate for presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle who are wrestling with President Barack Obama's approach to the threat.
A ‘deep disquiet’
Republicans have struck a hard line, opposing the White House’s plan to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees and casting Obama’s policy as toothless rhetoric.
Several candidates, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, claim Obama has no clear strategy to combat the group and want him to commit ground troops to the fight. Obama’s response, Fiorina said Tuesday, was to go “into the Oval Office and say nothing new.”
“And underneath, it feels like the world is going crazy and we’re not talking about the right issues in the right way,” she said. “Underneath that feeling, I think, also there is a feeling of deep disquiet.”
Carson’s standing in some polls plummeted after the attacks, as his one-time supporters expressed concern over his foreign policy heft. He’s tried to counter that image by traveling to Jordan, planning an upcoming visit to Africa and beefing up his foreign policy staff.
On Tuesday, he urged the federal government to step up training for citizens, calling for a new system of the air raid drills conducted in schools and offices during the Cold War.
“We need to be thinking about how we train our people to be able to react appropriately when you get into a situation with extremists in order to save your life,” he said.
Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton said the U.S. is "not winning" the battle against the terror group under Obama. She wants Congress to give the White House broader powers to take the fight to Islamic State militants.
The president made a rare prime-time address from the Oval Office earlier this week. He promised to put an end to the “thugs and killers” of the Islamic State but also urged Americans to separate them from the overwhelming majority of Muslims who don’t share to the group’s jihadist views.
“We cannot turn against one another by letting this fight be defined as a war between America and Islam. That, too, is what groups like ISIL want,” he said, using an acronym for the Islamic State. “ISIL does not speak for Islam.”
Heartburn and FDR
Trump's extraordinary rhetoric - his call for a "complete and total shutdown" of the borders to Muslims has forced his Republican presidential rivals to recalibrate their attacks and instead condemn the frontrunner.
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush declared Trump to be “unhinged, Rubio called the ban “offensive and outlandish” and Kasich said it was “another reason why he is entirely unsuited to lead the United States.” South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham called Trump a “xenophobic, race-baiting bigot.”
Trump compared his call for a Muslim ban to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s move to classify thousands of Japanese and other foreigners as “enemy aliens” during World War II.
Trump is causing heartburn for Republican voters and organizations. Jim Palmero has yet to pick a candidate, but the Marietta Republican drove to Midtown to see Fiorina. Fiorina, he said, summed up Trump perfectly.
“Hes an entertainer,” Palmero said. “He’s a talker. He takes advantage of the process and people’s emotions. Some of his comments are pretty tough.”
But Trump's stance wasn't universally denounced. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, another Republican candidate, commended Trump for "standing up and focusing America's attention" on the need for border security. And some voters found it appealing as well.
Susan Williams, a 58-year-old from Cumming, said Carson’s event was her first foray into presidential politics. And she credits Trump - and his provocative immigration policy - with her sudden interest in the race.
“I agree with Trump,” she said of his call for a ban on Muslim immigration. “These terrorists have a purpose - and they’ll never give up.”
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