Ben Carson Said He Doesn't Think A Muslim Should Be The US President

Last week, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made waves when he failed to correct a man who claimed President Obama was Muslim and not American.

The man also asked Trump how the US can "get rid of" Muslims. Trump responded,

We are going to be looking at a lot of different things. You know, a lot of people are saying that.

Trump was immediately accused of Islamophobia and asked to apologize for his troubling response and failure to correct the man's fallacious remarks surrounding Obama's background.

This incident continued to generate controversy over the weekend, prompting Chuck Todd of "Meet the Press" to question GOP presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson about his own views on Islam on Sunday.

Carson stated he would not support the election of a Muslim as president of the United States, arguing Islam, as a faith, is not compatible with the US Constitution, NBC News reports. He said,

I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.

Dr. Carson's incendiary remarks, quite understandably, incited outrage.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations called on Carson to drop out of the Republican presidential race.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling on Ben Carson to withdraw from the Republican presidential race pic.twitter.com/XYOE2mQrYh — Jaweed Kaleem (@jaweedkaleem) September 20, 2015

Many also pointed out how inconsistent Carson's views are with the Constitution.

Ben Carson said a Muslim shouldn't be president bc Islam isn't compatible with U.S. Constitution. Here is Article VI. pic.twitter.com/Vi991YzhJg — Liam Stack (@liamstack) September 20, 2015

Indeed, Carson's comments are fundamentally intolerant and at odds with the laws and values of this country.

Ben Carson doesn't believe a Muslim should be President while many in the US still don't believe a black man should be President... — Dena Takruri (@Dena) September 20, 2015

Ben Carson's comments on Muslims were hateful, ignorant, and cynical. I would hope that the other candidates would denounce him. — Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) September 21, 2015

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders nailed it when he described everything wrong with Carson's regressive outlook.

I am very disappointed that Dr. Carson would suggest that a Muslim should not become president of the United States. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 20, 2015

It took us too long to overcome the prejudice against electing a Catholic or an African-American president. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 20, 2015

People should be elected to office based on their ideas, not their religion or the color of their skin. — Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) September 20, 2015

There is nothing wrong with being Muslim, but there is something wrong with being Islamophobic and bigoted.

Watch a video of Dr. Carson's remarks below.

Citations: Ben Carson Does Not Believe a Muslim Should Be President (NBC News), Donald Trump is getting back into the Islamophobia business: The racist conspiracy theory he refused to disown (Salon)