Newt Gingrich, who was reportedly on the shortlist to be Donald Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, called Thursday for the U.S. to test every person with a Muslim background to see if they believe in Sharia law, and deport those who do.
The remarks from the former Speaker of the House came in the wake of a devastating attack in Nice, France, where a large truck plowed through a crowd, killing at least 84 people.
“Let me be as blunt and direct as I can be. Western civilization is in a war. We should, frankly, test every person here who is of a Muslim background, and if they believe in Sharia, they should be deported,” Gingrich said in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity Thursday. “Sharia is incompatible with Western civilization. Modern Muslims who have given up Sharia, glad to have them as citizens. Perfectly happy to have them next door.”
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Gingrich added to his remarks via Twitter Friday morning.
“Amazing distortions of my interview on Hannity last night. I will do a lengthy Facebook live later this morning on the issue of sharia,” Gingrich tweeted. “We clearly need three patterns dealing with Islamist terrorism: for people seeking to get into America, those with green cards, for citizens.”
The interview aired after CNN reported that Hannity provided the private jet Gingrich used to meet with Trump in Indianapolis.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the deadly truck attack in Nice and lashed out at Gingrich’s call to “test” Muslims in the U.S.
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“We condemn this bloody massacre as we have condemned previous ISIS or ISIS-inspired atrocities and the deviant ideology that produces such senseless and cowardly violence,” CAIR national executive director Nihad Awad said in a statement.
“When former House Speaker Newt Gingrich suggests that American Muslims be subjected to an Inquisition-style religious test and then expelled from their homes and nation, he plays into the hands of terror recruiters and betrays the American values he purports to uphold.”
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Gingrich was in the running to be Trump’s choice for VP before the real estate mogul announced Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his pick in a tweet Friday morning. Gingrich’s comments echo those made by Trump who has made repeated inflammatory comments calling for the surveillance of “certain mosques” and a temporary ban on Muslims from entering the U.S.
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