Trump says he didn’t suggest Muslim database

In a Yahoo News interview published Thursday, Trump did not discount the idea when asked if his future national-security measures could include a database of Muslim-Americans or a special form of identification for them.

Democratic front-runner, campaigning for Muslim votes, Hillary Clinton took to Twitter Friday and challenged all Republican candidates to disavow Donald Trump’s comments.

‘Donald Trump is unable to unite and lead our country’. “Absolutely”, Trump told an NBC News reporter between campaign events in Newton, Iowa, according to video posted on MSNBC.com.

Asked if that was something he would implement as president, Trump replied: “I would certainly implement that”. He said, I think he was from NBC, but you couldn’t hear anything, because I was signing books, and there was music blaring in the background, and people were screaming to sign books, and sign different things, and he was asking questions.

John Kasich said the proposal proved the real estate mogul was not worthy of the White House.

Ben Carson called for a database for all foreigners entering the United States, not just Muslims. It’s to manipulate people’s angst and their fears. “That’s not strength, that’s weakness”.

“There should be a lot of systems, beyond databases”, he said.

Kasich added that the idea someone had to register with the government because of a religion is against every belief the nation has.

Donald Trump’s Republican rivals have so far denounced his proposal to create a system for tracking Muslims in the USA, describing the idea as “abhorrent”, “revolting”, and “dangerous”.

On Friday, Trump deflected criticism of the remarks, saying in a tweet: “I didn’t suggest a database-a reporter did. I think we should be resolute in the fight of Islamic terrorists…. but we should do this in protection of our values, not the abandonment of them”.

Mr Trump insisted that that the proposed database was necessary to identify those living in the United States legally.

Trump’s comments have drawn the ire of both fellow Republicans seeking the Oval Office as well as those in the Democratic presidential primary campaign.

Ted Cruz, who has supported Trump on past issues, are not backing this latest plan. “If we don’t, we are doing a very poor job”.

“This is shocking rhetoric”, she wrote.

Asked if those running it would have to go to mosques, he said: “Different places”.

Trump has also voiced support for closing certain mosques as a way to contain the terror threat in the U.S. “They have to”, Trump asserted.

The Anti-Defamation League joined the opposition in a statement and called Trump’s claim “deeply troubling” and “reminiscent of darker days in American history”.

Trump hasn’t yet said whether his database would include only immigrant Muslims, anyone who identifies as one, or just anyone of Middle Eastern origin, but he’s got plenty of time to figure that out before the elections.