Barbara Walters sat down with Donald Trump today to discuss the blowback from his call for a ban on Muslims.
In a short interview that aired Tuesday evening on ABC News, Donald Trump told Barbara Walters that his call for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S. is not at all “un-American.”
“We have to do the right thing,” Trump insisted. “Somebody in this country has to say what’s right.”
Claiming he has “great respect and love” for Muslims, with whom he has “tremendous relationships with,” Trump insisted his proposed ban “is short term” to “let our country get its act together.”
Asked, “What is short term,” Trump refused to quantify it, saying only “it could be very quickly if our country could get its act together.”
“We need toughness and smartness and we have to do it quickly,” Trump insisted, without ever defining what, exactly, it is we need to do quickly, or what deficits he sees in our current programs.
The GOP frontrunner also disagreed with the suggestion that his anti-Muslim rhetoric was a boon to ISIS recruiting.
“I’m the worst thing that ever happened to ISIS. The people in my party fully understand that – they’re running against me. For the most part, they have no poll numbers. I’m leading by a lot. They get it. They’re trying to get publicity for themselves,” Trump said.
“You know when I came out against illegal immigration, everybody said the same thing. Two weeks later, everybody was on my side, including the members of my own party.”
Walters then, bluntly, asked Trump if he is a bigot.
“Not at all. Probably the least of anybody you’ve ever met,” he claimed.
“Because,” Walters probed.
“Because I’m not,” Trump replied.
“I’m a person who has common sense. I’m a smart person. I know how to run things. I know how to make America great again. This is about making America great again.”
Watch:
Some responses via Twitter:
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Image: Screenshot via ABC News
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