Reality Check: Donald Trump Supporter's Anti-Muslim Remarks
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota U.S. Congressman Keith Ellison called on GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump Friday to repudiate anti-Muslim remarks at one of his rallies in New Hampshire.
A Trump supporter said President Obama is not an American or a Christian, and wondered how to "get rid" of Muslims at the televised town hall meeting Thursday.
Ellison, a Democrat who is the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress, called the remarks "very disturbing."
"If you want to be president of the United States, you have to have moral courage," Ellison said. "You have to be the kind of person who is willing to confront that kind of hatred and say that it's not OK."
The unidentified man at the rally, who was wearing a Trump T-shirt, said, "We [have a] problem in this country. It's called Muslims. We know our current president is one. You know he's not even American."
Trump himself has questioned whether the president is an American, and he did not challenge the questioner.
"We're going to be looking at a lot of different things," Trump said. "And you know, a lot of people are saying that bad things are happening out there. We're going to be looking at that and plenty of other things."
The Trump campaign says he did not hear the question clearly, but Ellison questions why Trump had not corrected the record on Friday.
"When a candidate for a major political party running for president just lets that float on by, that is room for real, real concern," Ellison said.
Trump's campaign cancelled an appearance in South Carolina Friday because of what it called an "important business transaction."
His campaign says he will comment on the incident over the next few days.