Donald Trump says he would "absolutely" close some mosques and revoke passports to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) if he is elected president.
In an interview with
Fox Business Network's "Varney & Co." on Tuesday, host Stuart Varney asked Trump whether he would deal with terrorism like Great Britain – by revoking passports to young people who travel out of country to hook up with ISIS and by closing down some mosques.
"[W]ould you do the same thing in America," Varney asked.
"I would do that. Absolutely. I think it's great," Trump replied.
"Can you do it? Can you close a mosque?" Varney asked. "We do have religious freedom."
Trump admitted he wasn't sure.
"I haven't heard about the closing of the mosque. It depends, if the mosque is, you know, loaded for bear, I don't know," he said. "You're going to have to certainly look at it. But I can tell you one thing, if somebody goes over and they want to fight for ISIS, they wouldn't be coming back."
That comment immediately drew criticism, including from New York Republican Rep. Pete King.
King has been a leader in the fight against radical Islam in Congress, including leading hearings titled, "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community."
But he's no fan of Trump either, and thinks the GOP front-runner is going too far in calling for the closing of mosques.
"Donald Trump is talking before he knows what he's talking about," King told Fox News' Martha McCallum. "I have been critical of people in the Muslim community, but the fact is you can't be shutting down mosques."
King said he favors surveillance of mosques to see whether any illegal acts related to radical Islam are going on.
"But casually, the way Donald Trump seems to be talking about shutting down mosques? No," King said. "We do have freedom of religion. And my position is not against the Muslims, it's against the radicals in the Muslim community."
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.