San Bernardino Backlash ‘Ban All Muslims,’ Says Trump

The San Bernardino terror attack that resulted in the slaughter of 14 and injury of 21 innocent employees of the Inland Regional Center has left officials grappling for a solution. Donald Trump offered up a proposal that quickly spurred a firestorm of criticism, not only from the Muslim population in San Bernardino but also from both sides of the aisle. The GOP front-runner suggested the only way to prevent attacks on American soil, like the one less than a week ago in San Bernardino, would be to bar all Muslims from entering the country — immigrants and vacationers alike.

“There should be a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on. Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life,” Trump said, referring to the recent attack in San Bernardino.

Trump made the comments in the wake of President Obama’s national address from the Oval Office urging Americans not to allow the actions of the San Bernardino terrorists to influence their views of all Muslims.

Trump’s Republican rivals, although concerned about the recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, say that Trump is pushing it too far. Jeb Bush described his opponent as “unhinged,” and added that “his ‘policy’ proposals are not serious.”

Other Republican candidates were quick to jump on the bandwagon to decry the rationality of Trump’s comments.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie called Trump’s position “ridiculous.” During an interview with Michael Medved, a conservative radio host, Christie continued, “We do not need to resort to that type of activity nor should we. We need to cooperate with peaceful Muslim Americans who want to give us intelligence against those who are radicalized” which could have been of utmost importance in San Bernardino had anyone known about the plot. “To ban Muslims from entering the country is just someone who is speaking from no experience,” he added. “There are folks in this race that don’t care what the law says because they are used to firing people indiscriminately. You do not need to be banning Muslims from the country.”

It wasn’t just Trump’s running mates who were up in arms. Former vice president, Dick Chaney, said that the plan “goes against everything we believe in,” and Hillary Clinton chimed in, stating, “This is reprehensible, prejudiced and divisive.” The Democratic candidate claimed that the billionaire businessman didn’t understand that his plan would “make us less safe.”

While Trump’s solution for San Bernardino-style attacks is the banning of Muslims, President Obama took the opportunity to promote his agenda for stricter gun laws.

“Right now, people on the No-Fly list can walk into a store and buy a gun. That is insane. If you’re too dangerous to board a plane, you’re too dangerous, by definition, to buy a gun. We know that ISIL and other terrorist groups are actively encouraging people – around the world and in our country – to commit terrible acts of violence, often times as lone wolf actors. All of us – government, law enforcement, communities, faith leaders – need to work together to prevent people from falling victim to these hateful ideologies,” he said.

However, the President’s plan is of little consolation to the families of the 14 massacred in San Bernardino.

“Death,” Trump said, referencing the terror attack in San Bernardino, was the motivating factor for his polarizing comments. On December 2, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, took their 6-month-old daughter to Farook’s mother in Redland, a city 11 miles to the east of San Bernardino. The two then traveled back to San Bernardino to Farook’s place of employment, a social services center that serves people with developmental disabilities. There, they massacred 14 of Farook’s colleagues who had gathered for holiday activities, leaving the residents of San Bernardino in mourning.

According to the FBI, the San Bernardino natives, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, have been radicalized “for quite some time.” While it’s still unclear if the San Bernardino duo had any actual ties to ISIS, the pair seemed to share the group’s ideology.

[Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images]