Cruz on Kimmel: Proposed Patrol of Muslim Neighborhoods ‘Not Remotely’ in Competition with the Bill of Rights

Wednesday on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), a candidate for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, explained why he didn’t see his proposal to patrol Muslim neighborhoods in the United States to be in contradiction with the U.S. Constitution.

Kimmel asked Cruz if it was in “direct competition” with the Bill of Rights, an argument that Cruz dismissed.

“I want to ask about this thing you said, having police patrol Muslim neighborhoods,” Kimmel said. “I know you’re a guy, you love the Constitution. You’re a strict constitutionalist. Isn’t this in direct competition with the Bill of Rights?”

“Not remotely,” Cruz said. “Listen, we face a real threat and that is radical Islamic terrorism. And we’re seeing it growing and rising across the globe. We’re seeing terror attacks, whether it was Paris, whether it was San Bernardino, whather it was Brussels just a week ago. And this threat is growing and growing and growing. And I’ll tell you, people are really frustrated. They’re frustrated with the president. They’re frustrated with Hillary Clinton. They will not acknowledge what it is we’re facing. And they’re not supporting anything effective to fight it. If you’re going to fight it, you got to call it by its name and use the tools we have to defeat radical Islamic terrorism to keep America safe. I think that’s the most important job of the commander-in-chief, to keep this country safe. And if I’m president, that will be my most important job.”

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