Trump's Muslim Ban Is a Joke. Let's Treat It That Way

As other critics of Donald Trump's idea to ban Muslims from entering the United States decry it as "offensive and un-American," Charles Krauthammer thinks those people are taking the whole thing too seriously. The plan's "sheer absurdity" reveals it as what it really is—a stunt. Consider the fact that for the plan—as Trump defines it—to work, terrorists trying to enter the US would have to actually be honest with immigration officials about their religion. Jihadists "kill wantonly but, like George Washington, cannot tell a lie," Krauthammer quips in the Washington Post. "On this logic hinges the great Maginot Line with which Trump will protect America from jihad."

Here's what's going on, in Krauthammer's view: Ted Cruz started polling higher than Trump in Iowa, and just 5 hours later, Trump "decided it was time to seize the stage again." The fact that the US is now discussing his "clever stunt" at length is "embarrassing." The truth is, we need to ally with moderate Muslims to win the war on terror, not ban them from the US. "Whatever the final outcome, Trump's campaign has already succeeded, indelibly affecting both this race and the Republican future," Krauthammer writes. "At a time of economic malaise at home and strategic collapse abroad, Trump has managed to steer the entire GOP campaign into absurdities ... and impossibilities." Click for his full column. (More Donald Trump stories.)