
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Monday took to Twitter to criticize Republican candidate Dr. Ben Carson for saying he would not support a Muslim becoming president.
Carson, responding to a question on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview on Sunday, said, "I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that."
He added said that Islam, as a religion, is incompatible with the Constitution.
The comments invoked a firestorm in the United States, with critics including Minnesota Democratic Representative Keith Ellison, who is the first Muslim congressman in the United States, as well as Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations also criticized the remarks and called on Carson to withdraw from the race.
Clinton threw in her two cents on Monday, refuting Carson's point that Islam is incompatible with the Constitution and the American presidency.
“Can a Muslim be President of the United States of America? In a word: Yes. Now let's move on. -H,” she tweeted, quoting article VI of the Constitution which says that “no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”
Clinton was preceded by Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz, who quoted the same article in saying it would be unconstitutional to disqualify a Muslim from the presidency because of religion.
“You know, the Constitution specifies there shall be no religious test for public office and I am a constitutionalist,” the Texas senator said during the taping of a program for Iowa Public Television, according to USA Today.
Another Republican candidate, Senator Lindsey Graham also responded, saying that Carson, simply, was wrong.
Graham tweeted that the doctor "is not ready to be Commander-In-Chief. America is an idea, not owned by a particular religion," according to The Huffington Post.
Carson’s campaign has responded to the criticism, saying the interview on "Meet the Press" should be "watched or read carefully."
"He did not say that a Muslim should be prevented from running, or barred from running in any way," Carson campaign spokesman Doug Watts said.
Watts said the people would ultimately decide. "He [Carson] just doesn't believe the American people are ready for that," Watts said.
Watts added, "Dr. Carson is a strict adherent to the First Amendment — freedom of religion. That includes people of all faith."
"He has great respect for the Muslim community, but there is a huge gulf between the faith and practice of the Muslim faith, and our Constitution and American values," he continued, adding, "That can be disputed. That can be debated. But there's pretty strong evidence to that effect."