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| White House press secretary Josh Earnest answers a question about Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump during the daily press briefing on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2015, in Washington. |
WASHINGTON
(AP) -- Donald Trump's plan to ban Muslims from entering the United
States is shoving the Republican Party to the edge of chaos, abruptly
pitting GOP leaders against their own presidential front-runner and
jeopardizing the party's longtime drive to attract minorities.
Unbowed,
Trump fired a searing warning Tuesday via Twitter to fellow Republicans
carping about his proposal. A majority of his supporters, he tweeted,
"would vote for me if I departed the GOP & ran as an independent."
The
crossfire between Trump and frustrated Republicans became a furious
blur the day after the billionaire businessman announced his plan.
Beleaguered 2016 rivals condemned his proposal and complained that his
divisive positions were dominating attention in the crowded Republican
contest. Party elders, meanwhile, warned that too much criticism might
indeed push him to abandon the GOP and launch a third-party bid that
could hand the presidential election to the Democrats.
And
Republicans up for re-election in the Senate grew terse in the Capitol
hallways as they were asked again and again to respond to Trump's
remarks - a glimpse of their political futures if the former reality
show star captures the GOP nomination.
"This
is not conservatism," declared House Speaker Paul Ryan, the Republican
Party's top elected leader.
"What was proposed yesterday is not what
this party stands for. And more importantly, it's not what this country
stands for."
One by one, Republican officials
across the country lashed out at Trump's plan, announced the night
before, which calls for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims
entering the United States" to help quell the threat of terrorism.
But
party leaders are well aware that he could leave the GOP, run as an
independent and challenge the party's presidential nominee next year.
It's a threat they have long feared.
The
Republican Party, said Jeb Bush adviser Ana Navarro, is stuck between "a
rock and a jerk" less than eight weeks before the first primary-season
votes are cast in Iowa.
In New Hampshire,
Republican National Committeeman Steve Duprey called Trump's idea
"abhorrent." At the same time, he reminded Trump of his Republican
loyalty pledge, saying, "I know him to be a man of his word."
And
in Mississippi, RNC member Henry Barbour said Trump's comments "aren't
worthy of someone who wants to occupy 1600 Pennsylvania Ave." He said
Trump would be a "disaster politically for the GOP if he won the
nomination."
"It's embarrassing at best," Barbour said of Trump's impact on his party.
Barbour
helped author the Republican National Committee's "Growth and
Opportunity Project" after a painful 2012 presidential election that
forced party leaders to re-evaluate their strategy in presidential
contests to reflect the nation's demographic shifts. Among other things,
the report cited an urgent need for GOP leaders to adopt an inclusive
and welcoming tone on issues such as immigration.
"If
we want ethnic minority voters to support Republicans, we have to
engage them and show our sincerity," it read, noting that white voters
made up a record-low 72 percent of the electorate in 2012 and would
represent less than half of all voters by 2050.
Yet Trump has vaulted to the top of the Republican 2016 field by attacking immigrants in many cases.
He
called some Mexican immigrants "rapists" and "criminals" in his
announcement speech and intensified his criticism of Muslim immigrants
or visitors Monday evening. While experts widely consider his proposal
unconstitutional, Trump's continued popularity underscores the deep
divide between Republican leaders and the party's conservative base,
which holds outsized influence in the presidential nomination process.
Indeed,
Trump's plan was cheered during a South Carolina rally Monday evening,
and vocal supporters across the country defended the Muslim ban as
necessary for national security. Polling suggests the sentiment is
likely fueled by sharp strain of xenophobia: A new AP-GfK poll found 8
in 10 Republicans think there are too many immigrants coming from the
Middle East.
Trump showed little concern for critics on Tuesday.
"I don't care about them," he told CNN. "I'm doing what's right."
The
debate over Trump's plan left his Republican presidential competitors
struggling for attention with little time remaining before Iowa's Feb. 1
caucuses.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's
calls on Tuesday for Congress to strengthen the nation's domestic
surveillance program was little more than a coverage afterthought amid
the wave of Trump stories.. So, too, was a new advertising campaign from
allies of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush that assailed Trump, Florida
Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz as unprepared to serve as
commander in chief.
Former technology
executive Carly Fiorina flashed her frustration when asked repeatedly
about Trump's comments as she campaigned in Iowa.
"Maybe you should quit focusing on Donald Trump so much," she told reporters.
Trump's
position has also forced vulnerable Republicans facing re-election next
year into an awkward position. Those who weighed in at all condemned
his plan but also stepped carefully.
New
Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte said she opposes any "religious-based test
for our immigration standards," but she declined to criticize Trump
directly when pressed by reporters.
Some Republicans not facing election next year were less cautious.
"It does not reflect serious thought. It's not our party. It's not our country," Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. told reporters.
