Ben Carson says a Muslim shouldn't be president, Islam against Constitution

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said on Sunday that he thinks Islam is not “consistent” with American values or the Constitution, and that no Muslim should be president.

Carson was speaking on “Meet the Press” at the end of a week in which anti-Muslim bias has been in the news repeatedly—first with the story of Texas teen Ahmed Mohamed, and then with the anti-Muslim man at Donald Trump’s town hall.

“MTP” host Chuck Todd asked Carson if a candidate’s faith was important.

“If it’s inconsistent with the values and principles of America, then of course it should matter, but if it fits within the realm of America and consistent with the Constitution, no problem.”

Asked if he thought Islam was one of those faiths, he said, “I do not. I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that.”

Ironically, of course, the Constitution explicitly forbids the kind of religious litmus test that Carson is proposing.

Watch video of Carson’s comments below.