Marco Rubio slams Donald Trump for his 'Islam hates us' remark

Donald Trump isn't backing down from a recent controversial statement he made about Islam, and said Thursday there is "tremendous hatred" from Muslims directed at the United States.

"You can say what you want and you can be politically correct if you want," he said during the CNN Republican debate Thursday. "I don't want to be so politically correct. I like to solve problems. We have a serious, serious problem of hate." On Wednesday, Trump told Anderson Cooper that "Islam hates us," and after being asked by debate moderator Jake Tapper if he meant "all 1.6 billion Muslims," Trump responded, "I mean a lot of them."

Marco Rubio announced he's not "interested in being politically correct. I'm interested in being correct." There is "no doubt" that "Islam has a major problem on its hands," he added, but "we have to work together with Muslims who are not radicals." Rubio said he believes Trump appeals to some voters because he "says what people wish they could say, but the problem is presidents can't just say anything they want." Rubio shared that he recently met a missionary couple working in Bangladesh, who told him they are now operating in a "very hostile environment" because "leading political figures are saying that America doesn't like Muslims. It's making a real impact."

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Rubio implored his fellow candidates to go to any national cemetery to see crescent moons on headstones, and said "anywhere in the world there are American men and women serving us in uniform, who are Muslims. They love America. As far as I know, no one on this stage has served in uniform in the United States military. Anyone out there that has the uniform of the United States on and is willing to die for this country is someone that loves America no matter what their religious background may be."