Donald Trump: Muslims In New Jersey Cheered On 9/11 As Twin Towers Burned
At a rally in Birmingham, Alabama, on Saturday, Republican presidential candidate and poll front-runner Donald Trump made controversial statements about Muslims in New Jersey “cheering” on 9/11 as the Twin Towers burned and collapsed, according to the Hill.
“And I watched in Jersey City, New Jersey, where thousands and thousands of people were cheering as that building was coming down,” Trump was quoted about Muslims in New Jersey. “Thousands of people were cheering.”
Then, on the ABC program, This Week, the Donald Trump Muslim comments continued.
The host of the program, George Stephanopoulos, asked Trump if he “misspoke” when he made the comments in Alabama on Saturday. Stephanopoulos noted that rumors of Muslims cheering as the World Trade Center burned on 9/11 have been around for a long time, and that police claim that it never happened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tivet9iMRBw
Trump continued to insist that it did happen, despite Stephanopoulos’ claim, stating that he personally saw people cheering.
“There were people that were cheering on the other side of New Jersey, where you have large Arab populations,” Donald Trump was quoted about American Muslims. “They were cheering as the World Trade Center came down.”
Trump then pointed out that it may not be “politically correct” for him to talk about it, but that Muslims were definitely cheering on 9/11 and “That tells you something.”
Business Insider reports that images of Muslims in other countries cheering were broadcast in the wake of 9/11, but that rumors of Muslims cheering in New Jersey have been disputed by officials.
When Stephanopoulos noted Jeb Bush’s stance that closing mosques is “weak,” Trump fired back that Jeb Bush is a “weak” person. Trump also noted that he believed that Hillary Clinton doesn’t have the “strength or stamina” to be a successful president.
Stephanopoulos then asked Donald Trump about what criteria he would require for a mosque to be closed and about his promises to “preserve and protect religious liberty,” and if he only made those promises to Christians.
Trump then changed his position, stating that he actually doesn’t want to close mosques, but that he wants to conduct surveillance on them. Trump noted that mosques were under surveillance in New York until Mayor Bill de Blasio put a halt to the program, describing the information gained as being productive.
Donald Trump then referred to what happens when “stupid and incompetent” people are put into positions of power. The billionaire used President Obama’s remarks that ISIS had been “contained,” shortly before the Paris attacks, as an example of the president’s incompetence.
Stephanopoulos then described a plan by anti-Trump Republicans who are preparing to combine forces by uniting donors with the goal of knocking Trump out of the presidential race.
“I’m leading every poll by a lot. I resonate with the people,” Trump stated, saying that the efforts of other Republicans would be interesting to see.
When asked if he was open to an independent run, Trump stated that he would have to see how things went and that he has “to be treated fairly.” Trump spoke about how he has experience creating jobs and making money and that many other politicians are “incompetent.”
[Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images]
