Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump is rejecting the "extremist" tag placed on him by former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of the many people who criticised his call for barring Muslims from entering the United States following a rash of terrorist attacks in the U.S. and overseas.
Speaking to Bill O'Reilly on "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News Channel on Wednesday, Trump said, "I am not an extremist, I'm the opposite. I'm someone who understands what's going on."
The Republican presidential front-runner also clarified that he was not bashing Islam as a religion when he made a call to place a temporary ban on Muslims from entering the United States, an idea that sparked a political firestorm worldwide.
It's "about security, it's not about religion," Trump said. "Maybe it's not politically correct...but somebody had to bring it up," he added.
Trump further clarified that his suggestion is for "a temporary ban" that will affect "not everybody, but many," adding that he would set up a system "to see who qualifies to come in, who doesn't."
When asked if he thinks the U.S. needs Muslim nations to fight jihad, the embattled business mogul said, "No I don't, but I do think it'd be very helpful."
Trump made his highly incendiary proposal a week after a radicalised Muslim couple killed 14 people and injured 21 at a holiday office party in San Bernardino, California.
On Sunday night, President Barack Obama addressed the nation, calling on Americans to reject discrimination. "Muslim Americans are our friends and our neighbours, our co-workers, our sports heroes," he said.
Asked to comment on Obama's address, Trump said "it was a total disgrace," adding that "we have a president that doesn't have a clue. He doesn't know what's going on."
"What's important is that we get the word out, that we make America great again and that we have security for our country," he added.
Meanwhile, Trump announced that he has postponed his visit to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump was supposed to meet with Netanyahu on Dec. 28 after the Israeli Prime Minister said he is open to meeting with U.S. presidential candidates who visit Israel, Time reported.
But after hearing Trump's proposal, Netanyahu reportedly began distancing himself from the Republican candidate, saying that he disagrees with Trump's remarks and stating that Israel "respects all religions."
Aside from angering many Muslims worldwide, Trump also annoyed many American Jews last week after he spoke to a gathering of Jewish donors, Time said.
He was booed after refusing to endorse Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. He then went onto make remarks that promoted Jewish stereotypes. "I know why you're not going to support me: you're not going to support me because I don't want your money," Trump said. "You want to control your own politician." He also said, "I'm a negotiator, like you folks."
