Clinton: Trump’s Muslim rhetoric makes beating ISIS harder

Hillary Clinton on Monday said that Donald Trump’s remarks about Muslims hurt the chances of vanquishing the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

“Ask yourself if you can have a president of the United States who has put at the center of his campaign his rhetoric about Muslims,” she said during a campaign rally in Bowling Green, Ky.

{mosads}“How do we put together a coalition to defeat ISIS when some of the nations involved are Muslim-majority nations?” the Democratic presidential front-runner asked.

“What Trump says about foreign policy is not just offensive, it’s dangerous. You have to have a steady hand in the White House. It will be at the center of this fall campaign.”

Clinton said that Trump’s remarks questioning the usefulness of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are also deeply concerning.

“What he has said about NATO, which is our most important military alliance, raises not just red flags, but danger signals that people should pay attention to,” she said of the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee. “I don’t think Americans want a loose cannon in the Oval Office.”

Clinton added that Trump’s public persona is inflaming tensions between American voters, keeping them from cooperating for the greater good.

“When you have someone who is running for president who is so demagogic, when someone has insulted so many groups of people, that further divides us,” she said. “We are stronger together when we work together, when we listen to one another, when we respect one another.

“We have always found a way to roll up our sleeves, work together and solve our problems. We are all interdependent whether we like it or not, and we all have to understand that.”

Clinton’s remarks come one day before she faces Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in Democratic presidential primaries in Kentucky and Oregon.

She leads Trump by nearly 6 points nationwide in a hypothetical general election matchup, according to the latest RealClearPolitics average of polls.