LAS VEGAS — The undercard portion of the fifth Republican presidential debate began on a gloomy, fearful note, with one candidate saying that World War III already has begun, and another pronouncing that Americans had lost faith in their government’s ability to fight terrorism.
“We have entered World War III. World War III has begun, and we have a leader who refuses to identify it,” said former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said that Americans were fearful because of incidents like the Dec. 2 terrorist attack that killed 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif. “We have an enemy that is out to kill us, and we have a government we can’t trust anymore,” Huckabee said.
But the four low-polling candidates on the stage argued about whether the race’s front-runner, billionaire Donald Trump, had gone too far in calling for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States.
Santorum said that Trump’s argument had been misconstrued: It wasn’t an attack on Muslims; it was an attack on the Obama administration, which had allowed the female shooter in San Bernardino to enter the U.S. despite social-media postings in favor of radical groups.
“Donald Trump’s comment was nothing against Muslims. His comment was against this administration,” Santorum said. He added that although not all Muslims are radicals, “All jihadists are Muslims. That’s reality. And we have to stop worrying about offending some people and start defending all Americans.”
That drew a rebuke from Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who said calls for blocking Muslims played into the Islamic State’s strategy of pitting all Muslims against America. “This is the way to help our enemies. Stop this before it’s too late,” Graham said.
