NOT BACKING DOWN

Trump Defends Saying ‘Islam Hates Us’

Rubio, Cruz fire back.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio sparred over their views on Islam at Thursday night’s presidential primary debate, with the business mogul doubling down on his comments that Muslims hate Americans. Trump refused to back off his recent remarks that “Islam hates the West,” adding that he wasn’t concerned with being “politically correct” by avoiding such statements. In a sharply worded comeback, Rubio responded, “I’m not interested in being politically correct. I’m interested in being correct.” The Florida senator reminded Trump of the Muslims buried in Arlington National Cemetery and those serving in the U.S. military, saying the only way to confront the issue is to work with Muslims who are not radicals. Cruz added that Trump’s solutions on Islamist militants as well as trade were not so simple: “The answer is not to simply yell, ‘China: bad, Muslim: bad.’”