Ben Carson: Muslim Shouldn't Be President

Ben Carson is making headlines this morning for an appearance on Meet the Press in which he said a Muslim shouldn't be president of the US. "I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation," he told Chuck Todd of NBC. "I absolutely would not agree with that." Todd, playing off Donald Trump's recent controversy, began the line of questioning by asking whether a president's faith should matter, notes Politico. "If it's inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter," said Carson. Asked then if he thinks Islam is consistent with the Constitution, Carson answered, "No, I don't. I do not."

Trump himself dodged the question of a Muslim president on the same show. "It's something that at some point could happen," he said, adding, "Would I be comfortable? I don't know if we have to address it right now." Trump also said that while he believes "strongly that Muslims are excellent," he's got concerns, per a separate NBC story. "We can be politically correct and say there is no problem whatsoever, but the fact is, there is a problem with some and it's a very severe problem and it's a problem that's taking place all over the world." (More Ben Carson 2016 stories.)