Ryan Responds To Trump: We’re At War With Radical Islam, Not All Muslims

In this photo taken April 13, 2016, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Ryan said Thursday, April 14, 2016, that the whole world is watching American politic... In this photo taken April 13, 2016, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis. pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Ryan said Thursday, April 14, 2016, that the whole world is watching American politics and he can understand how Middle East allies would be rattled by Republican front-runner Donald Trump’s controversial comments. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) MORE LESS
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Seeking to distance congressional Republicans from Donald Trump but avoid another direct confrontation with him, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Tuesday reiterated his opposition to Trump’s proposed Muslim ban and emphasized that the United State is at war with “radical Islam” not Islam in general.

Asked at his weekly press conference to respond to Trump’s renewed calls to restrict the immigration of Muslims and Syrian refugees in the wake of the deadly shooting in Orlando, Florida, Ryan said that it’s important to make the distinction that America is “at war with radical Islam.”

“It’s not at war with Islam,” he said at the press conference on Capitol Hill.

The speaker said that the majority of Muslims in the U.S. are “moderate” and are “among our best allies, our best resources” in combatting terrorism. He said that it’s “important that we hone that distinction, we honor that distinction.”

Ryan, who has already gone on record as opposed Trump’s plan to ban Muslims from entering the country, noted on Tuesday that he still will not back Trump’s proposal.

“I do not think a Muslim ban is in our country’s interest,” he said, adding that the country needs a “security test not a religious test” for immigrants and refugees coming into the U.S.

The speaker did not mention his party’s nominee by name and did not address Trump’s controversial comments about Obama being in cahoots with Muslim terrorists.

Rather than focusing on Trump, Ryan went out of his way to note that the GOP House has passed several bills attempting to address and prevent terrorism on U.S. soil, including legislation to close a loophole in the visa waiver program and a bill addressing the vetting process for refugees.

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