Speaker of the House [crscore]Paul Ryan[/crscore] on Tuesday condemned Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s proposal to restrict Muslims from entering the country, saying it does not represent the values of conservatives, the Republican Party and the entire United States.
“Normally, I do not comment on what’s going on in the presidential election,” Ryan said. “I will take an exception today. This is not conservatism. What was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for. And more importantly, it’s not what this country stands for.”
The newly-installed Republican speaker made the comments during a Capitol press conference.
“When we voted to pause the refugee program a few weeks ago, I made very clear at the time, there would not be a religious test,” Ryan said. “There would be a security test. And that is because freedom of religion is a fundamental constitutional principle. It’s a founding principle of this country.”
On Monday, Trump, in response to the recent attacks by radical Islamists, announced he is “calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”
Ryan responded Tuesday by saying: “Not only are there many Muslims serving in our armed forces, dying for this country. There are Muslims serving right here in the House, working everyday to uphold and to defend the Constitution. Some of our best and biggest allies in this struggle and fight against radical Islamic terror are Muslims. The vast, vast, vast, vast majority of whom are peaceful — who believe in pluralism, freedom, democracy, individual rights.”