As GOP presidential candidate and Texas Senator Ted Cruz spoke by phone as a guest on Tuesday's special edition of CNN's The Lead, guest host Anderson Cooper quoted the Anti-Defamation League in invoking the imprisonment of Japanese-Americans in "internment camps" as he pressed the Texas Republican over his earlier call for more police engagement in Muslim neighborhoods to preempt terrorism in the U.S.
Even after Cruz repeatedly cited a program started by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and ended by current Mayor Bill de Blasio as an example of what he would like to implement, Cooper repeatedly asked essentially the same question as to specifically where there are Muslim neighborhoods that Cruz would like to see have a greater police presence.
The CNN host began by quoting a statement from Cruz and asking for clarification:
In a statement earlier today, you said that it's more important than ever to secure the border, defeat ISIS. You also talked about stopping the flow of refugees from countries with a significant al-Qaeda or ISIS presence. But you also said, and I quote, "We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized." What do you mean by that? By patrolling a Muslim neighborhood?
After Cruz did not quickly give a direct answer, Cooper quoted from the Anti-Defamation League and brought up "internment camps" as he followed up:
So the question, though, is: What do you mean by empowering law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized? As you probably know, the Anti-Defamation League has put out a statement saying "demonizing all Muslims is a misguided, counterproductive response to the terrorist threat posed by those motivated by a radical interpretation of Islam. It's an irrational approach, hearkens back to the fear and bigotry that led to the dark and tragic chapter in American history, the relocation of more than 100,000 Japanese to internment camps."
In his response, the GOP presidential candidate recalled New York City as an example of what he was referring to:
You know, Mayor Bloomberg of New York had a very successful program to engage with the Muslim community and to prevent radicalization and to identify radical Islamic terrorists before they carry out acts of terrorism. Mayor de Blasio came in and ended that program, said we're no longer going to do so. That was foolishness. That was political correctness run amok.
As Cruz moved on to criticize President Barack Obama and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for their reactions to Islamic terrorism, Cooper jumped in to follow up again:
So, beyond just having relationships with mosques, having law enforcement have ongoing relationships with mosques, which happens frankly in many cities with the FBI and local police departments in many cities currently in the United States, are you saying going beyond that? Because it does sound like in your statement, "empowering law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods," I still don't quite understand what that means.
There was then a back and forth:
CRUZ: It's very simple. It's doing what law enforcement does in any circumstance. If you have a neighborhood where there is a high level of gang activity, the way to prevent it is you increase the law enforcement presence there, and you target the gang members to get them off the streets.
COOPER: But you're talking about Muslim neighborhoods, not radicals particularly?
CRUZ: I am talking about any area where there is a higher incidence of radical Islamic terrorism. If you look at Europe, Europe's failed immigration law has allowed a massive influx of radical Islamic terrorists into Europe, and they are now in isolated neighborhoods where radicalism festers and grows, and sadly that leads directly to the kind of attack that we saw in Brussels, to the attacks we've seen in Paris. We need to prevent radicalization, and that is by targeting it....
The CNN host followed up again:
COOPER: Can you name a neighborhood now where you would like to see these patrols in? A neighborhood that you believe has been radicalized? Because, again, it seems like what you're saying right now is different from what's in your statement. Your statement makes it sound as if-
CRUZ: No, not at all.
COOPER: Okay, but, so is there a neighborhood now that law enforcement currently is not doing what you suggest or would like to see?
Cruz again brought up the dismantled New York City program as an example:
Listen, a classic example was Mayor Michael Bloomberg's successful program cooperating with the Muslim community to target and prevent radical Islamic terrorism. And Mayor Bill de Blasio, afraid of being labeled politically incorrect, ended that program, said, "No, no, no, no, no, we're not gonna do this anymore." And that is foolishness.
After Cruz turned again to criticizing President Obama, Cooper jumped in to worry:
But one of the points, though, that many make in the United States, I mean, law enforcement makes is that it's critical not only that Muslim communities in the United States assimilate and are part -- feel part of the fabric of the United States and to a great degree do already much more so certainly than we're seeing in Belgium or other countries in Europe, but they are on the front lines of this, and the information often has to come from them, and we have seen many cases where Muslim families or Muslim community members have come forward to identify potential trouble spots in their communities. Do you worry about alienating more people than you're actually discovering?
After Cooper asked how Cruz would "identify a community that needs these patrols," the CNN host then pivoted back to a similar question from earlier as to where there are neighborhoods that need an increased police presence, leading Cruz to bring up New York City for a third time:
COOPER: But in the United States, I mean, is there an increased incidence of radical Islamic terrorism that is not already being addressed?
CRUZ: Of course, look, New York City is a great example. Mayor Bill de Blasio shut down the program that was designed to prevent it. That is indefensible. It is political correctness run amok.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the segment from 4:52 p.m. ET on CNN's The Lead for Tuesday, March 22:
ANDERSON COOPER: In a statement earlier today, you said that it's more important than ever to secure the border, defeat ISIS. You also talked about stopping the flow of refugees from countries with a significant al-Qaeda or ISIS presence. But you also said, and I quote, "We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized." What do you mean by that? By patrolling a Muslim neighborhood?
[TED CRUZ]
COOPER: So the question, though, is: What do you mean by empowering law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized? As you probably know, the Anti-Defamation League has put out a statement saying "demonizing all Muslims is a misguided, counterproductive response to the terrorist threat posed by those motivated by a radical interpretation of Islam. It's an irrational approach, hearkens back to the fear and bigotry that led to the dark and tragic chapter in American history, the relocation of more than 100,000 Japanese to internment camps."
SENATOR TED CRUZ (R-TX): We have seen for seven years that being afraid to confront what it is we're facing, being afraid to name it, that it is radical Islamic terrorism, has left us vulnerable to jihad, to acts of terror, and we've seen that in Paris, we've seen that in San Bernardino, we've seen that in Brussels. Now, that does not mean targeting Muslims. It means targeting radical Islamic terrorism. You asked, "What does that mean?"
You know, Mayor Bloomberg of New York had a very successful program to engage with the Muslim community and to prevent radicalization and to identify radical Islamic terrorists before they carry out acts of terrorism. Mayor de Blasio came in and ended that program, said we're no longer going to do so. That was foolishness. That was political correctness run amok. It's exactly that same approach that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton follow by refusing to acknowledge who our enemies are. Now, our enemies are not every Muslim. Our enemy is radical Islamic terrorists, are the jihadists who seek to murder us. And it is the heart of law enforcement and national security to prevent those who are waging war on you from actually carrying out their attempted acts of war.
COOPER: So, beyond just having relationships with mosques, having law enforcement have ongoing relationships with mosques, which happens frankly in many cities with the FBI and local police departments in many cities currently in the United States, are you saying going beyond that? Because it does sound like in your statement, "empowering law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods," I still don't quite understand what that means.
CRUZ: It's very simple. It's doing what law enforcement does in any circumstance. If you have a neighborhood where there is a high level of gang activity, the way to prevent it is you increase the law enforcement presence there, and you target the gang members to get them off the streets.
COOPER: But you're talking about Muslim neighborhoods, not radicals particularly?
CRUZ: I am talking about any area where there is a higher incidence of radical Islamic terrorism. If you look at Europe, Europe's failed immigration law has allowed a massive influx of radical Islamic terrorists into Europe, and they are now in isolated neighborhoods where radicalism festers and grows, and sadly that leads directly to the kind of attack that we saw in Brussels, to the attacks we've seen in Paris. We need to prevent radicalization, and that is by targeting it.
And, Anderson, I'll give you an example, you know, sometime yesterday I was on with Wolf Blitzer on CNN and Wolf asked me, "Well, gosh, what difference does it make if you call it radical Islamic terrorism?" Well, it impacts the policy dramatically because if you won't identify it and Obama won't identify it, Hillary won't identify it, Democrats won't identify it, then you don't act to combat it, and so, for example, President Obama is advocating implementing a policy to bring tens of thousands of Syrian Muslim refugees to America. That makes no sense. The FBI has told us they cannot vet these refugees. And ISIS has told us they intend to infiltrate those refugees to send in jihadists to murder Americans. It's why I've introduced legislation-
COOPER: Can you name a neighborhood now where you would like to see these patrols in? A neighborhood that you believe has been radicalized? Because, again, it seems like what you're saying right now is different from what's in your statement. Your statement makes it sound as if-
CRUZ: No, not at all.
COOPER: Okay, but, so is there a neighborhood now that law enforcement currently is not doing what you suggest or would like to see?
CRUZ: Listen, a classic example was Mayor Michael Bloomberg's successful program cooperating with the Muslim community to target and prevent radical Islamic terrorism. And Mayor Bill de Blasio, afraid of being labeled politically incorrect, ended that program, said, "No, no, no, no, no, we're not gonna do this anymore." And that is foolishness. It's the same foolishness that governs Barack Obama. After every one of these attacks, he goes on a national televised address and lectures Americans on Islamophobia. We need a President instead that targets the bad guys. And I'll give you another example of the consequences of political correctness.
COOPER: But one of the points, though, that many make in the United States, I mean, law enforcement makes is that it's critical not only that Muslim communities in the United States assimilate and are part -- feel part of the fabric of the United States and to a great degree do already much more so certainly than we're seeing in Belgium or other countries in Europe, but they are on the front lines of this, and the information often has to come from them, and we have seen many cases where Muslim families or Muslim community members have come forward to identify potential trouble spots in their communities. Do you worry about alienating more people than you're actually discovering?
CRUZ: Anderson, of course we should be working with the Muslim community to target radical Islamic terrorism. to prevent radicalization. That is entirely consistent with active and pro-active law enforcement. You know, when you have a neighborhood that faces an increased incidence in gang involvement, effective law enforcement works with the community, and it's the community that pays the price. It's the community who the law-abiding citizens put at risk with that increased criminal activity. With radical Islamic terrorism, it's different from criminal activity. It is radicalization to war. They are waging jihad, and these are not isolated lone wolves, as the Obama administration insists. Rather, it is a coordinated war effort, and here's (INAUDIBLE)-
COOPER: So how would you identify a community that needs these patrols, that need securing? Are you talking about in every mosque in America there needs to be police involvement? How do you decide?
CRUZ: Anderson, it is not terribly complicated. It is typical law enforcement practice and national security practice to focus on where there is an increased incidence of radical Islamic terrorism. And that-
COOPER: But in the United States, I mean, is there an increased incidence of radical Islamic terrorism that is not already being addressed?
CRUZ: Of course, look, New York City is a great example. Mayor Bill de Blasio shut down the program that was designed to prevent it. That is indefensible. It is political correctness run amok. ...
