Sen. Susan Collins:
“Donald Trump’s proposal is not based on facts, and it does not reflect our American values. It’s just plain wrong; it’s unfair, and it would alienate important Muslim nations, like our allies Jordan and Turkey, which have been critical in the fight against Islamic extremism. It also casts an unfair shadow on patriotic, law-abiding American Muslims and on the thousands of American Muslims who serve patriotically and loyally in our military.”
Sen. Angus King:
“To have a presidential candidate make such a statement is a gift to ISIL. It plays directly into ISIL’s deliberate strategy of creating a division between the West and Islam. In addition, it’s a direct affront to our Muslim allies and partners like Turkey, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, among others. What’s more, it’s not only an insult to the millions of Muslim Americans who love and defend this country, but it’s also an assault on this nation’s constitutional foundation of religious freedom and liberty. In short, it’s bad for national security and inconsistent with our values – a terrible idea on all fronts.”
Rep. Chellie Pingree:
“It’s hard to imagine anything more un-American than excluding certain people from our country because of their religion. Trump’s proposal is bigoted, racist and goes against the most fundamental American values. His comments are dangerous and bad for America’s image around the world.”
Rep. Bruce Poliquin:
“We must not do anything which violates our Constitution or harms religious liberty. I remain steadfast that we must have new, stronger strategies to combat Islamic terrorism. This is not a perceived threat, it is clearly real and growing. I have already supported legislation to suspend Syrian and Iraqi refugee resettlement programs until we can verify, with absolute certainty, that there is no threat to our families, communities and way of life.”
Maine Republican Party Chairman Rick Bennett:
“It’s not the way that our nation thinks about people. We’re a nation of individuals, and we have a long tradition of religious tolerance and religious liberty.”
Maine House Majority Leader Jeff McCabe:
“It’s scary. It’s this continued building mantra that’s coming out of the Republican Party and it completely ignores our own history and errors we’ve made in the past.”
— Matt Byrne, Staff Writer
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