In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Donald Trump said that he thinks “Islam hates us.” Though he clarified that the war was against radical Islam, he said, “it’s very hard to define. It’s very hard to separate, because you don’t know who’s who.”
During Thursday’s GOP debate, CNN’s Jake Tapper followed up on that statement, wondering if Trump really meant that the entire world’s 1.6 billion Muslim population hates us.
“I mean a lot of them,” he responded.
.@jaketapper: Did you mean all 1.6 billion muslims? @realDonaldTrump: I mean a lot of them. I mean a lot of them. pic.twitter.com/EhVMs7ZS4I
— POLITICO Video (@POLITICOvideo) March 11, 2016
Though he was content to leave it at that, Tapper pushed back, asking if he wanted to clarify that remark.
“There’s something going on that maybe you don’t know about…but there’s tremendous hatred,” he said.
“We better solve the problem before it’s too late.”
The other GOP candidates disagreed with Trump, arguing that America has to work with Muslims who are not radicalized to root out radical Islam and defeat ISIS.