Kasich Hits Back at Cruz Over Call to Police Muslims

Glen Stubbe/ZUMA

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.


Ohio Gov. John Kasich rebuked Sen. Ted Cruz’s call to “patrol and secure” Muslim neighborhoods in the wake of the deadly explosions in Brussels on Tuesday.

“We are not at war with Islam—we’re at war with radical Islam,” Kasich told reporters in Minneapolis, according to the New York Times. “In our country we don’t want to create divisions where we say, ‘Okay well your religion, you’re a Muslim, so therefore we’re going to keep an eye on you.”

He added, “The last thing we need is more polarization.”

ISIS has since claimed responsibility for the attacks, which have killed at least 30 people.

Kasich’s remarks stand out against those of his other Republican primary opponent, Donald Trump. In response to the attacks on Tuesday, Trump announced his support for employing torture tactics against terror suspects for intelligence-gathering purposes, despite considerable evidence that such methods fail to produce useful information.

“If they could expand the law, I would do a lot more than waterboarding,” Trump said on the Today Show. “You have to get the information from these people.”

Terrorism expert Malcolm Nance slammed Trump for the comments, describing them as fodder for terrorist recruitment efforts.

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate