Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump’s rivals are convinced that his call to bar Muslims from entering the U.S. is the outrage that will finally bring him down. They kept hammering him over it Wednesday, but so far there’s no evidence that his unconventional campaign is losing momentum.
Mr. Trump stood firm behind his plan that he said was an appropriate response to the threat of radical Islamic terrorism, despite near-universal condemnation that he is a bigot and his idea to exclude Muslims was an affront to America’s treasured freedom of religion.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, whose struggling presidential campaign got some attention after he said on CNN that Mr. Trump should “go to hell,” announced that he would be speaking out some more against Mr. Trump and the proposed Muslim ban at campaign stops Thursday in New Hampshire.
“This is not what leads to a strong America,” said Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is mired in low single digits in the polls. “We have never been strong by focusing on things designed to divide us.”
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who is among the top tier of candidates, distanced himself from the Muslim ban but was careful not to alienate Mr. Trump’s supporters, who he hopes to win over should the front-runner tumble.
“It violates the Constitution. It places a religious test. And it isn’t the best way to do this,” Mr. Rubio said on the nationally syndicated Hugh Hewitt radio show Tuesday night.
“What he proposed was not well thought out. It was impulsive. He didn’t think it through,” he said.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said that the U.S. should not have a “religious test” for immigrants and visitors, but he said it also was dangerous not to acknowledge that the terrorists are Muslims.
“There’s a danger of generalizing to all Muslims, and that’s a bad tendency,” he said on CNN. “But the other tendency might be equally dangerous. You have [Democratic presidential front-runner] Hillary Clinton, who refuses to admit that radical Islam has anything to do with terrorism.”
Every Republican candidate has taken a swing at Mr. Trump or his plan. And members of the Republican establishment have welcomed the furor against the billionaire businessman and reality TV star, who they believe would be a disaster for the party if he wins the nomination.
However, Republican strategist Jim McLaughlin said it was likely wishful thinking that the proposal to ban Muslims would derail Mr. Trump’s campaign.
“I don’t think this hurts him the way a lot of people think it might,” he said. “It might even strengthen him, believe it or not.”
He said banning Muslims might rankle politicians and TV news commentators, but it resonates with Mr. Trump’s supporters who are fed up with politicians and business as usual in Washington.
“There’s a real deep frustration with President Obama, immigration and terrorism. Donald Trump in a lot of ways is helping to fill the void,” said Mr. McLaughlin.
Craig Robinson, a former GOP operative who now writes the Iowa Republican blog, said the Muslim ban hadn’t rattled Mr. Trump’s supporters in Iowa.
“The public [reaction] that I’ve seen has not been an uproar,” he said. “From my vantage point right now, I don’t think we’ll see a steep drop-off” in support for Mr. Trump.
A new poll showed Mr. Trump expanding his lead in the early-voting state of New Hampshire, breaking out to an 18-point advantage.
Mr. Trump led with 32 percent, followed by Mr. Rubio at 14 percent, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 9 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at 8 percent, according to the CNN/WMUR poll of likely GOP voters in the Granite State.
The same poll in September showed Mr. Trump with a 10-point lead.
Mr. Trump also is at the front of the pack in most national polls and in early-voting Iowa, though a recent survey in Iowa showed him trailing Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
Mr. Trump said the attacks came with being on top.
“I’m leading by a lot. They get it. They’re trying to get publicity for themselves,” he said in an interview with ABC News.
He said the same thing happened when he took a stand against illegal immigration and Mexican criminals that he said were running amok in America, but his poll numbers went up, and eventually his rivals adopted his position.
Still, Mr. Trump has bristled at the opposition he faces from the Republican establishment and floated the possibility of running as an independent if he is not treated “fairly.”
“First of all, I don’t want to do that. I’m leading in the polls by not a little bit, like by 20 and 21 points,” Mr. Trump said on the “LIVE with Kelly and Michael” daytime TV show.
“I’m leading in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, Texas. I’m leading in Florida I’m leading every single poll and nationwide — I’m leading in every one of them,” he said. “So obviously, I’m very happy where I am.”
He continued: “The people, the Republican Party [have] been — the people have been phenomenal. The party, I’ll let you know about that. And if I don’t get treated fairly, I would certainly consider that.”
In September Mr. Trump signed a pledge stating that he would support the eventual GOP nominee if he doesn’t secure the nomination and forgo a third-party or independent bid.
A USA Today poll this week found that 68 percent of Mr. Trump’s supporters said they would continue to back him if he launched an independent run. That would split the Republican vote and likely guarantee victory for the Democrats.
• Seth McLaughlin and David Sherfinski contributed to this report.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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