Muhammad Ali defends fellow Muslims in hit at Donald Trump’s ban plan

Trump had planned to meet with Netanyahu December 28 in Israel, according to an Israeli government official, but shortly after the meeting was reported, Netanyahu’s office condemned Trump’s comments about Muslims.

Boxing icon Muhammad Ali has come out fighting against Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump and his controversial call for a ban on the entry of all Muslims into the US.

“He said we have a meeting and he looks forward to the meeting and all of that”. “In fact, I did a campaign ad for him, and he’s a good man, but I didn’t want to put him under pressure”, Trump said.

Other Israeli politicians have also criticized Trump, and many experts expressed concern about a report in the Jerusalem Post that the real estate mogul was considering a trip to the Temple Mount, a site that is the subject of controversy in the larger Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Press Secretary Josh Earnest took several shots at the businessman’s appearance while describing the tycoon’s rhetoric as “offencive bluster”, saying he told “outright lies” and used “vacuous sloganeering”.

But of course, in true Cruz weasel fashion, the senator didn’t have the temerity to go after his old pal when given an opportunity on national television to do so just hours before. “All I’m doing is postponing it and I think that was the better decision”, he said.

President Barack Obama, in a televised address to the nation Sunday night, called on Americans to reject discrimination, saying, “Muslim Americans are our friends and our neighbours, our co-workers, our sports heroes”.

“So, I would say lots of different reasons”.

Robert Gunnell, a spokesperson for Ali, said later the statement “was not a direct response to Donald Trump”.

In the latest major nationwide poll, conducted by the New York Times and CBS News released Thursday, Trump had the support of 35 percent of Republican primary voters, his strongest yet.

“No, I’m running – I’m running as a Republican”.