The Republican Party has had many representatives in the political race to become the next American president. In the latest one, a single candidate has received more attention than the rest because of his opinions and expressions of his views on critical matters that most assume to be an expression of the Republican’s wishes. The Great Old Party (GOP) frontrunner in the presidential race has been reported to cause an outrage in the political arena after calling for the “complete shutdown” of Muslims in finding access to America (Epstein and Nicholas 1).
In his defense, the billionaire claims that failure to adhere to his call would result in a terrorist attack such as that which occurred in 2001 (Henderson 2). He stated “It is obvious to anybody the hatred [among Muslims] is beyond comprehension,” He complains that the Muslims possess an absolute hatred whose source cannot be determined, as such, it is quite difficult to know their intentions with Americans thereby making them a top threat in matters of terrorism. His argument here was that the nation is currently at their mercy and that the citizens should not be waiting to become victims of horrendous terrorist actions from people who solely believe in Jihad as a governing rule. The opinions are however supposed to be considered as his personal views and not that of the GOP.
The opinion expressed in this statement is, however, contradictory because when later asked about the Muslims serving in the military, he said that he would allow them entry because they would be returning home (Epstein and Nicholas 4). There is no proof that other Muslims, who are not in service, cannot exude patriotism for America like their counterparts in the military. Likewise, the latter cannot be proven to have the degree of patriotism to make them not act in the manner in which they are accused. The comments raised in this event have been deemed unconstitutional by legal experts, because (12).
The significance of this event is that there is a high chance that debate will ensue on whether to initiate a program where the entrants will have to take a religious test before having access to the American lands (Diamond 3). Not everyone was opposed to this idea, in fact, some of his supporters expressed enthusiasm with his statement. One of them expressed, ‘I think that we should disallow any Muslims from coming in. Any of them. The reason is simple: we can't identify what their attitude is.” His Democratic Party competitor for the top office, Hillary Clinton, has since deemed these opinions as reprehensible, divisive and prejudicial and that such actions, if effected, would make America less safe (Epstein and Nicholas 29).
Such comments may be the reason for his loss in popularity in states such as Iowa because it can be argued to be a call for intolerance of the Islamic faith, which President Barrack Obama had been advocating for actively through a speech a few days earlier from the Oval Office. There is a positive side to his defiant stand despite the criticism that he has received on a global scale. The supporters have shown greater commitment to his cause because the celebrity has expressed a tenacious leading style, thereby making him a frontrunner in the GOP primary.
The candidate has since emphasized that there will be more incidents such as that of World Trade Center if his suggestion is not taken seriously. He explained that the Sharia Law allows such atrocities and being vigilant is the only way to limit them (Pilkington 7). Political experts have stated that his hateful speech on this subject means that he does not understand what war is about, meaning that the adoption of this ‘fortress America’ tactic would indeed be a death sentence for the military. Trump’s opinion is firmly supported by a former official in the Pentagon called Gaffney, who has defended it by stating that Islamic laws are infringing on the people and will soon become a threat to the nation’s democracy (27).
Donald Trump’s call for the complete ban of the Muslims from the United States turned out to be controversial. Together with his party, they received local and international condemnation despite the fact that even his opponents for the Republican nomination did not support his views. The event has however not affected his ratings in the presidential race because he is still leading and by a substantial number. It has however been considered to be an excellent opportunity for the Democratic Party to portray the Republicans as a hostile party that is evidently hostile to the minorities in the nation (Henderson 16).
Works Cited
Diamond, Jeremy. “Donald Trump: Ban All Muslims Travel to US. CNN Politics. 8 Dec. 2015. Web. 17 April, 2016 (http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/07/politics/donald-trump-muslim- ban-immigration/)
Epstein, J. Reid and Peter Nicholas. “Donald Trump Calls for Ban on Muslim Entry into the US.” Wall Street Journal. 7 Dec. 2015. Web. 17 April. 2016. (http://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-calls-for-ban-on-muslim-entry-into-u-s- 1449526104)
Henderson, Nia-Malika. “After Call to Ban Muslims, is the GOP ready to Unite against Trump? CNN News. 8 Dec. 2015. Web. 17 April. 2016. (http://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/08/politics/donald-trump-muslim-republicans-2016/).
Pilkington, Ed. “Donald Trump: Ban All Muslims Entering US.” The Guardian. 8 Dec. 2015. Web. 17 April. 2016.
