House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Tuesday lambasted Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, after the latter on Monday called to ban all Muslims from entering the US.
The real estate guru's comments are "not who we are as a party" said the Republican leader Ryan, saying the sentiment also violates the Constitution.
"This is not conservatism. Some of our best and biggest allies in this struggle and fight against radical Islamic terror are Muslims," noted Ryan.
Other Republican presidential candidates and party leaders have come out fiercely against the comments as well, as has the White House.
But the characteristically controversial Trump was unapologetic on Tuesday, as he told CNN in a TV interview that the September 11, 2001 attacks will be outclassed by the terrorism America will suffer if it doesn't confront the issue of Islam.
"You're going to have many more World Trade Centers if you don't solve it - many, many more and probably beyond the World Trade Center," Trump opined.
"They want our buildings to come down; they want our cities to be crushed," he said, pointing out how the World Trade Center was attacked twice, and how Islamic State (ISIS) just last week conducted a lethal shooting in San Bernardino, California. "They are living within our country. And many of them want to come from outside our country."
Trump said he didn't care what the Republican party leadership thought of his comments, stating, "we can close our eyes. We can put the blinders on, but I don't choose to do that."
"Obama made a fool of himself"
He said his plan to ban Muslim entry would be "temporary," but did not give any sort of timeline or details. "It's until the country's representatives can figure out what's going on," he said.
Trump also criticized US President Barack Obama, saying he refuses to acknowledge America is "at war with radical Islamic terrorism."
"We have a President that made a fool out of himself the other night," Trump said of Obama's comments Sunday night regarding the California shootings. "He doesn't even mention the term. He refuses to use the term. Nobody understands why. If you're not going to even use the term, you're never going to solve the problems."
While his position to ban Muslims from entry has raised a particularly furious media storm, Trump is no stranger to controversy; just last week he put himself in hot water after voicing crass Jewish stereotypes at the Jewish Republican Coalition's Presidential Forum in Washington DC.
He was condemned by a number of Jewish groups after telling Republican Jews "you’re not going to support me because I don’t want your money. You want to control your own politicians."
He also said he hopes to force Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to hold more peace talks, and accused Israel of not making enough sacrifices, before saying, "this room negotiates deals. Perhaps more than any room I’ve ever spoken to."
At the meeting Trump also refused to rule out dividing Jerusalem as part of peace talks.