Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson says front-runner
Donald Trump's recent call to ban Muslims from entering the United States could alienate people and doesn't represent who we are as a country.
"I think anybody of any race, creed, color, religion is welcome to come to America if they want to be Americans and if they want to adopt our way of life," Carson said Tuesday on CNN's
"The Lead with Jake Tapper"
"We do not discriminate on people based on religion," Carson said. "That's [not] constitutional. That's in the First Amendment. So we would never want to do that."
Still, he said, the United States must look at what kind of people are entering the country.
"If they come here with a plan to change [America] to something else, in my opinion, they are not welcome," Carson said.
Carson agreed that Trump's call on Monday for a moratorium on all Muslims entering the country could ignite anti-American passions.
"Besides that, it's just not who we are," he said. "This doesn't mean that we just turn a blind eye and just let anybody in and say it's OK. Obviously, the vetting process for the terrorists who carried out the attack in San Bernardino was not effective. That tells us there's more that we need to do."
Americans need to feel safe reporting suspicious activity without being labled "Islamophobic," Carson said. He said he would like to see Muslim religious leaders play a role in fighting radicalism.
"Obviously, Americans will feel a lot more comfortable when they hear instances of Muslims turning in radicals," he said.
Carson also was asked about his falling poll numbers now that national security has become a major issue.
"Very few people can sustain the kind of attacks that I have had and still be at this level, so that tells you there's a very strong base of support there," he said.
As people continue to hear his message, he said he believes his numbers will rise again.
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