Donald Trump Likes the Idea of Muslim Surveillance
Donald Trump's recent campaign appearances are drawing out the First Amendment defenders.
After a stop in Iowa, Thursday, an NBC News reporter asked him if there should be a database to monitor Muslims in the United States, and he replied, "I would certainly implement that," reports Yahoo, "absolutely."
Governor John Kasich (R-OH) was swift in his opposition. "The idea that someone would have to register with the federal government because of their religion strikes against all that we have believed in our nation’s history," he said via statement.
"On the question of should the federal government keep a registry of any religious group? The answer is of course not," said Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX). "The First Amendment protects religious liberties for every American."
A few days later, reports CNN, at the same rally during which a Black Lives Matter activist was assaulted, Trump said –– and this is despite the ongoing #NotInMyName campaign from Muslims around the world following the Paris attacks –– "I want surveillance of certain mosques if that's OK ... We've had it before."
He followed with mention of 9/11, "I watched the World Trade Center go down," he said; and his stance on Syrian refugees, "I will absolutely take [a] database on the people coming in from Syria. If we can't stop it –– but we are going to if I win –– they're going back."
His rhetoric on the nation's security issues, "It's manipulating people's angst and their fears," Govenor Jeb Bush (R-FL) later said on CNBC. And it's working. A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken after the Paris attack found that 33 percent of Republicans think Trump is best suited of all the candidates to address terrorism.
Perhaps, this is just what ISIS wanted.
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(Photo: Isaac Brekken/Getty Images)
