Last night first in a paper statement and then later on the campaign trail in South Carolina the man who is the front runner for the GOP Presidential nomination Donald Trump made news worldwide when he proposed barring all Muslims from entering the country after last week’s San Bernardino shootings.
Was this the opening that the Republican Party’s establishment has been waiting for? The one where Trump has gone too far, stepped over the line?
While, I would not count on it did not take long for the his fellow presidential candidates to pile on him big time. They rushed to Twitter, called into talk shows, both radio or television or simply issued statements condemning his remarks.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush took to twitter: “Donald Trump is unhinged. His ‘policy’ proposals are not serious,” he tweeted.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was also on his phone tweeting: “I disagree with Donald Trump’s latest proposal. His habit of making offensive and outlandish statements will not bring Americans together.”
Meanwhile, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie went old school talking on a radio show: “Again, this is the kind of thing that people say when they have no experience and don’t know what they’re talking about. We do not need to endorse that type of activity, nor should we,” he said on Michael Medved’s national program.
Dr. Ben Carson was part of the twitter gang: “Everyone visiting our country should register and be monitored during their stay as is done in many countries. We do not and would not advocate being selective on one’s religion.”
Ohio Gov. John Kasich: “This is just more of the outrageous divisiveness that characterizes his every breath and another reason why he is entirely unsuited to lead the United States,” he tweeted.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz: “Well, that is not my policy. I’ve introduced legislation in the Senate that would put in place a three-year moratorium on refugees coming from countries where ISIS or al Qaeda control a substantial amount of territory,” he said yesterday in a press briefing.
House Speaker Paul Ryan on Tuesday condemned Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s call for a ban on Muslim immigrants to America “until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”
“This is not conservatism,” Ryan said in the RNC lobby on Capitol Hill. “What was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for and more importantly it’s not what this country stands for. Not only are there many Muslims serving in our armed forces, dying for this country, there are Muslims serving right here in the House working every day to uphold and defend the constitution. Some of our best and biggest allies in this struggle and fight against radical Islamic terror are Muslims, the vast, vast, vast, majority of whom are peaceful, who believe in pluralism and freedom, democracy and individual rights.”
Perhaps the most interesting condemnation came via twitter from St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman who says that the GOP frontrunner Donald Trump is banned from that city because of his proposal for “a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”
There is no doubt that Trump has caused another firestorm but it is likely that as he has many times in the past. He will bounce back and maintain his lead in the polls as while the GOP establishment would love to see Trump out of the race, it is unlikely to happen any time soon.
