Trump: ‘We certainly do have a problem’ with some Muslims

Donald Trump defended his comments regarding Muslims Sunday but said that there are major problems with Muslim extremists.

Trump is under fire for not disagreeing with a supporter who said at a Thursday rally that “we have a problem in this country, it’s called Muslims” and that President Obama is a Muslim.

{mosads}In phone interviews on news shows Sunday, Trump sought to thread a needle on the issue, saying that he has Muslim friends, but some Muslims present a “problem.”

He repeatedly declined to specify the problem that Muslims have.

“You can be politically correct if you want, but are you trying to say we don’t have a problem,” Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”

“Most Muslims, like most everything, I mean, these are fabulous people,” he continued. “But we certainly do have a problem, I mean, you have a problem throughout the world.”

Asked to explain the “problem,” Trump only said, “it wasn’t people from Sweden that blew up the World Trade Center.”

Trump struck a similar tone on ABC’s “This Week.” He told host George Stephanopoulos that he has Muslim friends.

“They say there is a problem with certain militants that obviously you report on every night on your newscasts,” Trump said. “But there is a problem with militancy, and it is something that is going to have to be solved.”

And on NBC’s “Meet the Press” with Chuck Todd, Trump said Muslims are “excellent.”

“You know, we can be politically correct, and we can say there is no problem whatsoever,” Trump told Todd. “But the fact is, there is a problem with some. And it’s a very severe problem. And it’s a problem that’s taking place all over the world.”

Following strong condemnations of his actions at the Thursday rally, Trump fired back on Saturday, saying that he’s not “morally obligated” to defend Obama.

In the run-up to the 2012 election for president, Trump repeatedly expressed doubt that Obama was born in the United States.

Eventually, in response to doubts from Trump and others, Obama released his full birth certificate, showing that he was born in Honolulu in 1961.