New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that Donald Trump has become a “recruitment poster” for ISIS with his comments alienating Muslims across the globe.
“Donald Trump could be a recruitment poster for ISIS because he is fanning the flames of hate,” Cuomo told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on “New Day.” “One billion Muslims were just alienated with one sentence. At this point we don’t need more Muslim enemies, we need more Muslim allies. And saying that this country doesn’t trust or doesn’t like all Muslims and damns a religion, plays right into their hand.”
Trump has continued leading in national polls — raising questions like whether Republican leaders will brace for a brokered convention — but he is facing a growing challenge from Sen. Ted Cruz. Cuomo declined to weigh in on whether Trump would be able to govern as president, instead turning to Trump’s call to ban Muslims from entering the country.
“Forget the politics, I’m sure Mr. Trump has very smart people who are advising him and they’ve come to the conclusion there are enough extremists in the Republican Party that this Muslim ban is good politics for him,” said Cuomo, whose younger brother Chris Cuomo is a co-anchor on “New Day.” “But I believe it’s terrible policy. I believe it’s hurting this country. I believe it is actually fomenting the growth of ISIL.”
Trump will appear onstage Tuesday night along side Cruz and other contenders at CNN’s Republican Debate in Las Vegas, the final Republican debate of the year.