Donald Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States until the nation beefs up its anti-terrorism programs is a wrong-headed idea, Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, tells
Newsmax TV.
"He's wrong. I mean I'm against the idea of choosing any religion and saying that you don't belong. He makes a universal statement," Donohue said Monday on "The Steve Malzberg Show."
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"I can't put up with that as a Catholic leader. If you want to say that everybody has to be vetted, if you want to do something of that nature, that's fine."
"If you even want to say people from the Middle East in general have to be vetted twice, I'm OK with that."
But that's as far as it goes, said Donohue, whose New York City-based group is the largest defender of Catholic civil rights in the United States.
"You can't single out people on the basis of religion just based on some of them [being] bad eggs. I disagree with Trump on that," he said.
Trump has been under fire from Republicans, Democrats and Muslim groups since proposing his controversial plan, but he's stuck to his guns and refused to back down.
Donohue, a Newsmax contributor, is author of
"The Catholic Advantage: Why Health, Happiness, and Heaven Await the Faithful," published by Image.
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