GOP Debate: Rick Santorum Supports Donald Trump Muslim Ban, Declares World War 3

Tonight’s GOP debate will probably be the last time that we will be seeing Rick Santorum in the GOP presidential race. He’s polling at 0.3 percent, which means that he is second to last in the race. But if he does bow out after tonight’s debate, he’s sure to remembered as the candidate who openly supported Donald Trump’s anti-Muslim ban and declared World War 3.

.@RickSantorum says “stop worrying about offending some people and start defending all Americans.” #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/OecFnKDvvY

— Fox News (@FoxNews) December 16, 2015

At Tuesday’s Republican debate, Santorum said that Donald Trump proposed Muslim was not unconstitutional, Mediaite reports. His justification was that Islam was just a “different” religion.

“Islam is different. I mean that sincerely, Islam is not just a religion,” Santorum said. “It is a political governing structure. The fact of the matter is, Islam is a religion, but it is also Sharia law, a civil government, a form of government. So the idea that that is protected under the First Amendment is wrong.”

He also insisted that the Trump ban is not meant to be “against Muslims.”

“The fact of the matter is that not all Muslims are jihadists,” Santorum said. “No one—including, I suspect, Donald Trump—would say that. But the reality is all jihadists are Muslims. That’s a reality, and we have to stop worrying about offending some people and start defending all Americans.” Santorum also declared that the World had entered World War 3 in his opening statements

.@RickSantorum says “We have entered World War III” in his opening statements. #GOPDebatehttps://t.co/ZngF0TLbBphttps://t.co/wL2EvNp2hc

— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) December 15, 2015

Santorum participated in the undercard debate alongside former Governor George Pataki, former Governor Mike Huckabee, and Sen. Lindsey Graham because his polling numbers are so low. Every one of the four previous Republican debates has been divided into two events: an “undercard” for low-polling candidates, and a main event for the candidates who are doing better in the polls.

CNN stated that to qualify for the main stage candidates had to fulfill certain criteria namely have an average of 4 percent in the national polls or an average of three and a half percent in either Iowa or New Hampshire. Although Rick Santorum said that he supported Trump’s idea for a ban on all Muslims, some of the other “undercard” candidates expressed some disapproval, Newsweek reports.

“Donald Trump has done the one single thing you cannot do: declare war on Islam itself,” said Senator Lindsey Graham. ISIL [the Islamic State militant group] would be dancing in the streets, they just don’t believe in dancing,” he said.

On the other hand, former governor Pataki insisted that increased surveillance of Muslims after September 11 had stopped “dozens and dozens of attacks in New York.” According to Newsweek, this claim has been refuted by the New York Police Department.

Pataki also reminded the audience that he was the Governor of New York during the 9-11 attacks on The World Trade Center. He also insisted that allowing Syrian refugees into The United States would be encouraging “terrorists living amongst us, looking to carry out attacks.” And Huckabee proposed that Syrian refugees should be sent to Chappaquiddick on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, the Upper West Side in Manhattan and the South Lawn of the White House. But Senator

Graham held his ground, insisting that the ban on foreign Muslims is unconscionable.

“The only way we’re going to win the war against radical Islam is for the world to unite,” he said. “Muslims have died by the thousands fighting this hateful ideology.”

The candidates were also divided when asked if they would support Donald Trump if he becomes the Republican candidate. “I’d rather him be president than Hillary [Clinton] be president any day,”Huckabee said. Graham said he would probably “sleep in” on nomination day if Donald Trump is the chosen Republican candidate but pledged to support whoever the party wants to be the next President of The United States.

[Photo by Justine Sullivan/Getty Images]