As Donald Trump’s newest “celebrity” supporter, Ted Nugent, reminds us, there are some people who think that the President of the United States is already Muslim. GOP candidate Ben Carson might not believe that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim with an agenda to turn Americans into gay marrying clockmakers, but he did reveal on Meet the Press Sunday that he doesn’t believe that a Muslim should ever be elected President. “I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation,” the neurosurgeon said, claiming that a President’s faith should matter if “it’s inconsistent with the values and principles of America.” And if that President also went to prison and became gay, well, that would probably be twice as bad.
Unsurprisingly, the Council on American-Islamic Relations is furious with Carson over his comments, and national executive director Nihad Awad has called for him to “withdraw from the presidential race because he is unfit to lead because his views are in contradiction with the U.S. Constitution.” Carson is unlikely to bow out simply because of this backlash, especially when he’s been doing so well with fundraising efforts and receiving fist bumps from Trump. But we can expect for the rest of the career politicians choking on the dust of Trump, Carson, and possibly even Carly Fiorina to begin ramping up their own Islamophobia as soon as they’re done with Kim Davis.
For more on Carson’s must-haves for the presidency, anchors Tom Storey and Briana Lane weigh in on today’s episode of The Desk.