Ben Carson on Muslim president: Why would you take that chance?

Last week, he told Chuck Todd on NBC’s Meet the Press that he would “not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation”, Carson said.

I wonder what Carson and Donald Trump and their supporters would think today if we re-coded their dog-whistles – if we placed the word Christian or Jew wherever the word Muslim appears.

Today, I’m thankful that Trump and Carson have taken the anti-Muslim positions they have because they publicly reinforce the growing perception that segments of the GOP have become increasingly intolerant and exclusive.

Carson stood by his assessment of the tenets of Islam and challenged Raddatz and anyone else to show him “an approved Islamic text that opposes Sharia”. He also said Islam “subjugates other religions, and [advocates] a host of things that are not compatible with our constitution”.

“It reflects what we’ve been seeing out on the road”, Carson said, citing “large crowds” at his campaign events.

“What we should be talking about is Islam and the tenets of Islam and where do they come from?”

With such history, it wouldn’t surprise me, to paraphrase Martin Niemoller once again, if someday some American might write: “First, they came for the Muslims, and I did not speak out because I was not a Muslim”. They come from, you know, the life works and examples of Muhammad.

Carson has come under fire recently for Islamophobic comments. Let me see – if you can show me that, I will begin to alter my thinking on this. In the meantime, he still has a problem with a religion that’s “against the rights of women” and gay people and that “subjugates other religions”.

West, who declared his candidacy for the White House in 2020 at the MTV Video Music Awards last month, praised Carson in the magazine interview. “I was, like, this is the most brilliant guy”.

“I personally don’t feel that way, but I would certainly be willing to listen to somebody who had evidence to the contrary”, Carson said.