Priebus: No Religious Registry But Some Must Be Kept Out

President-elect Donald Trump's chief of staff insisted Sunday there'll be no "registry based on a religion" under the new administration.

In an interview Sunday on NBC News' "Meet The Press," Republican National Committee head Reince Priebus, pressed on whether he would "unequivocally rule out" a Muslim registry, refused to "rule anything out."

But, he declared: "We're not going to have a registry based on a religion."

"What I think what we're trying to do is say there are some people… that are radicalized," he said. "And there are some people that have to be prevented from coming into this country."

Priebus deflected on whether Trump agreed with his newly named national security adviser Gen. Michael Flynn's past remark that fear of Muslims is rational. 

Trump "believes that no faith in and of itself should be judged whole," he said. "There are some people in countries abroad that need to be prevented from coming into this country. I think that's where 99 percent of Americans are at."

In a separate interview Sunday on ABC News' "This Week," Priebus replied "I think so" when he was asked if Trump is in agreement with Flynn's view that Islam is a political ideology that hides behind being a religion. 

"Clearly there are some aspects of that faith that are problematic and we know them; we've seen it," Priebus said. "It certainly isn't a blanket for all people of that faith, but Mike Flynn is one of the most highly respected intelligence officers in America. Certainly no one can deny that."

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