NBC: GOP ‘Defying’ Obama with ‘Fear-Mongering and Heated Rhetoric’
RUSH TRANSCRIPT:
GUTHRIE: "And now to the fierce political debate going on over Syrian refugees entering the United States. Defying the President, the House on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to impose stringent new screening rules. While on the campaign trail, Donald Trump is under fire this morning after calling for the creation of a national database to register all Muslims living here in the U.S. NBC national correspondent Peter Alexander is covering the political piece of this, this morning. Peter, good morning."
ALEXANDER: "Hi, Savannah. Americans clearly have real fears after the Paris attacks, it doesn’t matter which party you belong to. But on the topic of Syrian refugees, it is Republicans on the campaign trail who have really gone on the offensive with some of the toughest language yet."
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: "Trump Under Fire for Muslim Database; Plan Stirs Controversy as House Votes on Resettlement] In the fight over Syrian refugees, more fearmongering and heated rhetoric."
TRUMP: "We can’t take them. We can’t take them." (Applause)
ALEXANDER: "Donald Trump cheered on by supporters in Iowa Thursday night, telling NBC News he’d support a government database to track Muslims living in this country."
TRUMP: "There should be a lot of systems, beyond databases. I mean, we should have a lot of systems. Oh, I would certainly implement that, absolutely."
ALEXANDER: "Later, Trump ignored a follow-up question.'
UNIDENTIFIED MAN [NBC REPORTER]: "Mr. Trump, why would Muslim databases not be the same thing as requiring Jews to register in Nazi Germany?'
TRUMP: "Who are you with?"
MAN: "I’m with NBC News. Is there a difference between requiring Muslims to register and Jews in Nazi Germany?"
TRUMP: "You tell me. You tell me."
ALEXANDER: "In Alabama, while calling for tough screening, Ben Carson compared some refugees to mad dogs.'
CARSON: "If there’s a rabid dog running around your neighborhood, you’re probably not gonna assume something good about that dog and you’re probably going to put your children out of the way."
ALEXANDER: "Criticized for those remarks, Carson criticized reporters."
CARSON: "So what does the news media do? “Carson says the Syrians are like rabid dogs.”
UNIDENTIFIED MAN B [MEMBER OF CONGRESS]: "The bill is passed."
ALEXANDER: "On Capitol Hill, 47 House Democrats joined Republicans, defying the President’s veto threat, passing a bill that would effectively shut the door on refugees coming to the U.S. from Syria and Iraq, setting an almost impossible bar requiring the nation’s top three security officials at the FBI, Homeland Security, and National Intelligence personally certify that each refugee is not a threat before they’re allowed in."
RYAN [SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE]: "It’s a security test, not a religious test."
ALEXANDER: "On its Instagram page, the White House blasted out images of desperate young refugees. Unveiling her aggressive strategy to defeat ISIS, Hillary Clinton attacked the uproar."
CLINTON: "That is just not who we are."
ALEXANDER: "And new this morning, the results from the latest NBC News/SurveyMonkey online poll, they were taken after the Paris attacks, here’s what they are. Among Republicans, Trump remains firmly in the lead, he’s at 28%. But you can see Ben Carson, he had the biggest drop, falling into a tie for second, now at 18% with Senator Ted Cruz. Cruz grabbing some of Carson’s evangelical support. Marco Rubio at 11%, Jeb Bush you see well behind. On the Democratic side, it’s Hillary Clinton still holding the lead, just shy of 50%. But note this, Bernie Sanders posted his highest level of support in our polls yet at 33%. Savannah, Willie?
GUTHRIE: Alright, Peter Alexander, thank you so much. We’re going to take a closer look at some of the numbers on the refugees issue. Of the 69,000 refugees who’ve entered the U.S. this year, 12,000, that’s about 18%, are from Iraq, and about 1,600, less than 3%, are Syrian."
GEIST: "And that Syrian number could grow next year as President Obama remains committed to his plan to accept at least 10,000 more Syrian refugees."
