Donald Trump bragged about the support he received from Christian conservatives at an event in Iowa on Wednesday night, and even asked those backers to raise their hands.
Then he asked audience members who were not conservative Christians to identify themselves.
“Raise your hand if you’re not a Christian conservative. I want to see this, right? Oh there’s a a couple people, that’s all right,” Trump said as he dismissively waved a hand. “I think we’ll keep them, right? Should we keep them in the room, yes? I think so.”
Trump appeared to be joking, but the crack didn’t sit well with many online:
A bit worrying if you are agonistic, atheist, Muslim, Hindu, Jew, Buddhist, Sikh, or even, God forbid, a liberal Christian. https://t.co/LNeVFORkFK
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) September 28, 2016
@jameshohmann @JessicaTarlov Wow. As a Christian I would be offended by that....if I took anything he says seriously.
— Matt Montgomery (@mattmo812) September 28, 2016
@jameshohmann Pink Floyd's "In the Flesh" lyrics come to mind. "Get 'em up against the Wall!!!" pic.twitter.com/bwYnKQ6mOi
— Scott Clark (@scottclark) September 29, 2016
@jameshohmann @TaylorLorenz I had always thought Christianity was about tolerance / acceptance.
— SalaS (@salasks) September 28, 2016
@jameshohmann Trump isn't even a Christian conservative
— Eduardo (@edjames01) September 28, 2016
@jameshohmann Raise your hand if you're NOT a follower of Jupiter. I want to see that. There's a few of them. Should we keep them?
— Historical Trump (@HistoryDTrump) September 29, 2016
@jameshohmann @Olivianuzzi I'll bet Trump didn't put his own hand up. Am I right?
— Dread Pirate Cates (@drawandstrike) September 28, 2016
@jameshohmann As a non-believer and American citizen, I find this ... deplorable.
— Robert Stribley (@stribs) September 29, 2016
@jameshohmann
— Major Sisyphus (@MajorSisyphus) September 28, 2016
Trump: "Raise your hand if your NOT a Christian conservative..."
Crowd: "Are you?"
Trump: "I... I don't know..." pic.twitter.com/2HIf1EL5j5
@jameshohmann What's next, colored stars to identify religion, sexual orientation or other perceived social "deviancy"?
— (((Amy K.))) (@MeshugaNuts) September 28, 2016
@jameshohmann @JohnJHarwood He should have just said, "Any Jews here? Should we keep them?"
— (((Dan Isaacs))) (@CopyDan) September 28, 2016
@jameshohmann @michaelaranger I hope they made it out of there ok. 😬
— (((Monica Ranger))) (@MonicaRanger) September 29, 2016
@jameshohmann https://t.co/RDvrApF0Ps
— Kevin Miller (@KmkMiller) September 28, 2016
Clarification: The headline and article have been updated to reflect that Trump called specifically for anyone who is not a conservative Christian, and not merely all non-Christians, to identify themselves.
Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularlyincitespolitical violence and is a
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