Donald Trump: 'I love the Muslims'
Republican frontrunner Donald Trump addressed an Iowa high school Saturday night after largely avoiding the press since Thursday, when he caught bipartisan criticism for failing to correct a town hall supporter who said President Obama is Muslim and asked Trump when the U.S. could "get rid" of Muslims.
On Saturday, when a student asked if the real estate mogul would consider putting a Muslim person on his ticket or in his Cabinet, Trump said, "Oh, absolutely. No problem with that."
After Trump's Thursday remarks, the candidate pulled out of multiple events, and top conservative Erick Erickson called him a "chicken." On Saturday morning, Trump responded to the backlash on Twitter, arguing he has no "moral obligation" to defend Obama. But by nighttime, he had changed his tune, at least a little bit.
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"I love the Muslims," he told CNN on Saturday night. "I think they're great people."
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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.