Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton answers a question at the Democratic presidential candidates debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. (Photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters)
Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton lit into Republican frontrunner Donald Trump during the ABC News Democratic primary debate in Manchester, N.H., on Saturday night.
“He is becoming ISIS’s best recruiter,” she said. “They are going to people, showing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists.”
“The first line of defense against radicalization is in the Muslim-American community, people who we should be welcoming and working with,” she said.
“I worry greatly that the rhetoric coming from the Republicans, particularly Donald Trump, is sending a message to Muslims here in the United States — and literally around the world — that there is a clash of civilizations, that there is some kind of Western plot or war against Islam, which then, I believe, fans the flames of radicalization,” she continued.
To underscore her point that radicalization at home could be amped up by the tough talk on the campaign trail, Clinton’s campaign tweeted: “We’re not at war with a religion; we’re at war with radical jihadism. Muslim Americans: This is your country too. #DemDebate”
Republicans, for their part, want to see the videos Clinton mentioned.
“So @GlennKesslerWP it should be pretty easy for @HillaryClinton to produce the @realDonaldTrump video ISIS is using, right?” tweeted Hugh Hewitt, the conservative radio talk show host.