Reince Priebus, the man appointed by Donald Trump to be the President-elect’s chief of staff, has issued some concerning comments about a registry of Muslim citizens in the United States.
Priebus, who has served three terms as chair of the Republican National Committee, was asked about comments from incoming National Security Advisor Mike Flynn that “fear of Muslims is rational”, and whether a Muslim registry was still on the cards.
And while he told interviewer Chuck Todd there would not be a registry “based on a religion”, he prefaced that by saying he was “not going to rule out anything”.
WATCH: @Reince, Chief of Staff for President-elect Trump, addresses a Muslim registry on @MeetThePress w @ChuckTodd. https://t.co/hwIyDTCbSd pic.twitter.com/x3aonYDn5W
— NBC News PR (@NBCNewsPR) November 20, 2016
Rather than a registry defined purely along religious lines, it appears Trump’s team would prefer to establish a registry for those who enter the United States from specific countries.
However, in a separate interview with ABC, he said “clearly there are some aspects of [Islam] that are problematic.
On ABC, Priebus says Trump agrees w/Flynn's critique of Islam. "Clearly there are some aspects of that faith that are problematic" pic.twitter.com/kr0TZAGJgi
— Alexandra Jaffe (@ajjaffe) November 20, 2016
Priebus’ comments follow the appointment of Steve Bannon to Trump’s team following the Republican candidate’s election victory.
Bannon’s Breitbart News site has published Islamophobic content as well as a whole host of other questionable articles, while Bannon himself has been accused by his ex-wife of saying he didn’t want his children going to school with Jewish pupils (a claim which he denies).
Priebus defended his NBC comments – and the position of President-elect Trump – with the following statement:
“President Trump’s position is consistent with bills in the House and the Senate that say the following: If you want to come from a place or an area around the world that harbors and trains terrorists, we have to temporarily suspend that operation until a better vetting system is put in place.”
However, many have already rushed to condemn him in the light of the latest interview.
https://twitter.com/Blackharp/status/800384456498511872
Reince "I'm supposed to be the middle-of-the-road appointee but, yes, I too believe there are some problematic parts of Islam" Priebus pic.twitter.com/UOXmWnUXWw
— Bradford Pearson (@BradfordPearson) November 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/jh_swanson/status/800390111737298944
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