Trump Asked a Rally Crowd if He Should Let Non-Christians Stay

Trump asked an Iowa rally if he should let non-Christians stay in the room.

September 29, 2016

At a campaign rally in Iowa on Wednesday, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump asked those in the room who were not conservative Christians to raise their hands, then asked the crowd whether or not he should let the non-Christians stay at the rally. The billionaire performed poorly at the first presidential debate earlier this week, and is now getting backlash on social media for continuing to discriminate against non-Christian religions.

While campaigning in Council Bluffs, Iowa on Wednesday afternoon, Trump addressed the crowd and asked everyone in the room who was a Christian conservative to raise their hands. Then, Trump said: "Raise your hand if you’re not a Christian conservative. I want to see this, right? Oh there’s a couple people, that’s all right." Trump then asked, "Should we keep them in the room, yes? I think so."

Some have said that Trump asked the crowd about ejecting non-Christians in jest, but given that Trump's rallies have become infamous for kicking out Black people, Muslims, and various protestors (often involving violence that Trump has encouraged at rallies), it's hard to dismiss the comment about non-Christians as purely benign joking around.

While Trump didn't kick out any non-Christians at this rally, the remarks can be added to a long line of comments where he discriminates based on religion, specifically Muslims and Jewish people, which have drawn heavy criticism from both sides of the political aisle.