Donald Trump's proposal
to ban all Muslims from entry into the United States while the country gets a grasp on terrorists goes too far, says Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, one of Trump's rivals for the GOP presidential nomination.
But Paul also believes those who refuse to use the term "radical Islamist" are missing the mark.
"I don't think we should have a religious test," Paul said Wednesday on CNN's
"The Lead with Jake Tapper" "But the other tendency may be equally as dangerous. You have Hillary Clinton who refuses to admit that radical Islam has anything to do with terrorism."
Tapper pointed out that Paul's own bill would impose a travel ban on people from 33 countries, mostly with Islamic majorities.
Paul said his plan is different because it seeks an answer. A businessperson from an Islamic country who has been traveling into the country for years should apply for "global entry," he said.
"But if you're a 25-year-old kid and you have never traveled to America, I think there ought to be extra scrutiny before you come from these countries," Paul said.
Paul also was asked about requiring telecommunications companies to allow the government to monitor encrypted communications to stop terrorists.
"I think banning encryption is a little bit like banning guns," Paul said. "If you ban encryption, the law-abiding people won't use it. And the terrorists will still continue to use it."
It also would require a weakening of the source code that would allow foreign governments to monitor and allow hackers in, he said.
Paul, who is polling in the low single digits, said he has no plans to drop out of the race to allow supporters to rally behind another candidate to defeat front-runner Trump.
"We've gone into this Trump mania," Paul said. "I don't think he's going to win. I think really that we have overblown these polls and in reality many of these people in these polls are not voters."
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