Real-estate mogul Donald Trump said Wednesday that President Barack Obama may have visited a Maryland mosque “because he feels comfortable there.”
During an interview with Greta Van Susteren, the Fox News host asked Trump about the visit.
“President Obama went to a mosque today in Baltimore to talk about religious tolerance and to talk about the contributions Muslims have made in the United States,” she said. “Your thoughts about that?
Trump, a Republican presidential candidate, said that although he didn’t have much of an opinion about the issue, Obama could have visited somewhere else instead.
“I don’t have much thought. I think that you can got to lots of places,” Trump said. “I don’t know, maybe he feels comfortable there.”
He added: “We have a lot of problems in this country, Greta. There are a lot of places you can go, and he chose a mosque. That’s his decision, that’s fine.”
Obama’s visit to the Baltimore mosque was apparently in reaction to Trump, who has pledged to bar Muslims from entering the US if elected president. Obama spoke at length there about the contributions that Muslims have made to America, and appeared to allude to Trump’s plan when he called political rhetoric that alienates Muslims “inexcusable.”
“Inexcusable political rhetoric against Muslims that has no place in our country,” Obama said. “It’s no surprise than that threats against Muslims have surged.”
Obama continued: “We can’t be bystanders to bigotry. Together, we’ve got to show that America truly protects all faiths. As we protect our country from terrorism, we should not reinforce the ideas and the rhetoric of the terrorists themselves.”
As reported by Business Insider