President Donald Trump denied feeling animus towards Muslims during a wide ranging interview with British TV personality Piers Morgan.
The president called any suggestions that he hates Muslims “totally false” and added “I feel love for all people.” Trump has frequently been accused of harboring discrimination against Muslims since his November 2015 call to ban to the religious group in the wake of the San Bernadino terrorist attack.
Trump clarified in his remarks to Morgan that “if a person’s bad, we’ve got to do something about it. There’s got to be retribution. But I’ve had great great relationships with Muslims,” adding “they want to be safe also, Piers. And they like me because I give them security. I have a great relationship and respect for Muslims.”
Trump also said he would apologize for retweeting videos from a British far right party in November saying “If you’re telling me these are horrible people, horrible racist people, I would certainly apologise if you’d like me to do that. I know nothing about them.” The incident sparked outrage in Britain and even triggered a rare confrontation between the president and British prime minister Theresa May.