Republican presidential hopeful and real estate mogul Donald Trump is calling for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" following deadly terror attacks involving Islamic extremists in California and France.
"Without looking at the various polling data, it is obvious to anybody the hatred is beyond comprehension," Trump said in a statement emailed to reporters on Monday.
"Where this hatred comes from and why we will have to determine. 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," he continued.
Corey Lewandowski, Trump's campaign manager, told The Associated Press that the ban would apply to "everybody," including Muslims seeking tourist visas.
So to be clear, the leading contender for the Republican nomination to be President of the United States just declared war on the second largest religion on the planet.
Here is how some of Trump's rivals responded.
— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) December 7, 2015
.@Realdonaldtrump has gone from making absurd comments to being downright dangerous with his bombastic rhetoric.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 7, 2015
Donald Trump is unhinged. His "policy" proposals are not serious.
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) December 7, 2015
Too late guys, Donald Trump has already defined the Republican party in the eyes of the world.Somewhere right now members of ISIS are giving each other high fives, at a job well done.