President Obama: Anti-Muslim Rhetoric From Trump 'Not America We Want'
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WASHINGTON D.C. (AP/CBSDFW) - President Barack Obama says anti-Muslim rhetoric from presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is "not the America we want."
Obama is arguing that treating Muslim-Americans differently won't make the U.S. safer. He says it will make the country less safe by fueling the notion among followers of the Islamic State group that the West hates Muslims.
Obama lashed out a day after presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump doubled down on his proposal to temporarily ban foreign Muslims from entering the U.S.
Obama says the U.S. was founded on freedom of religion and that there are no religious tests in America.
He says such talk makes Muslim-Americans feel like their government is betraying them.
Obama commented after meeting with his national security advisers on the threat posed by IS. He also was briefed on the investigation into the Orlando nightclub shooting.
Later Tuesday, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump responded to criticism by President Obama saying the president puts U.S. enemies ahead of its allies and the American people.
In an emailed response to questions, Trump said the president "claims to know our enemy, and yet he continues to prioritize our enemy over our allies, and for that matter, the American people."
He added that "when I am president, it will always be America first."
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