Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, refused to criticize Donald Trump on Thursday morning for his recent comment that Islam is a religion that “hates us.”
Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Scott was asked to respond to Trump, who made the remark in an interview with CNN the previous night.
“So, you’re a friend of Donald Trump, would you tell your friend Donald Trump that he should walk back his statements that Islam hates America, that Islam hates us?” said host Joe Scarborough, a former GOP congressman. “Do you think Muslims in the state of Florida hate America?”
But Scott skirted the question completely by saying that Florida is “the best melting pot in the world.”
“I’m just asking generally, do you think that Muslims hate Americans?” Scarborough pressed. “That Islam hates America as Donald Trump said last night?”
Again, Scott did not directly answer. “I can tell you what’s going on in Florida,” he said, before being cut off.
After another back and forth where Scott did not answer whether Islam “hates” the U.S., the show’s co-host, Mika Brzezinski, asked him to answer, otherwise the show would “scoot.”
“I can tell you that I’m glad everybody’s in Florida,” Scott said, referring to the GOP presidential candidates who are in the state for a debate on Thursday. “We’re doing well here. The debate’s going to be fun tonight. I hope they talk about jobs. It’s the most important issue.”
The show cut to a commercial break and when it returned, Brzezinski said Scott was “weak” not to answer the question. She also called his performance “pathetic.”
Trump’s comment on Islam is not the first time he has cast suspicion about the religion as a whole. He previously called for a temporary “ban” on any foreign Muslims entering the U.S. in order to find out “what the hell is going on.”
