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Donald Trump is Isis' best recruiter, says Hillary Clinton in Democrat TV debate

Clinton accuses Trump of using 'bluster and bigotry to inflame people'

Chloe Farand
Sunday 20 December 2015 15:31 GMT
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Hillary Clinton hits out at Donald Trump during third Democratic debate, calling him "Isis' best recruiter"
Hillary Clinton hits out at Donald Trump during third Democratic debate, calling him "Isis' best recruiter" (AP)

Donald Trump's "discriminatory" and inflammatory language means he is becoming one of the “best recruiters” for the Isis militant group, Hillary Clinton has said.

Speaking during the Democrat candidates’ third TV debate ahead of the 2016 presidential campaign, Ms Clinton hit out at Mr Trump following his call to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the US.

She decried the Republican hopeful's “great capacity to use bluster and bigotry to inflame people” and warned there are no “easy answers” to “complex questions”.

Mr Trump has been increasingly radical in his anti-immigration statemetns after the shootout in San Bernardino, California, which killed 14 people - the deadliest terror attack on US soil since 9/11.

“They are going to people showing videos of Donald Trump insulting Islam and Muslims in order to recruit more radical jihadists,” Ms Clinton told the audience at St Anselm College, in Manchester New Hampshire.

“We must make sure that the real discriminatory messages that Trump is sending around the world don’t fall on receptive ears,” she said.

Mrs Clinton’s comments came after the presenter of the ABC-hosted debate mentioned a poll finding 36 per cent of Americans agree with Mr Trump’s proposed ban.

Donald Trump called to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the US after the San Bernardino, California, attack on December 2 (AP)

Earlier this month, a group of counter-terror and human rights experts warned Mr Trump’s Muslim bashing was aiding the terrorist cause.

"They love him from the sense that he is supporting their rhetoric," Rita Katz from the SITE Intelligence Group told NBC News.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was particularly vehement against the Republican candidate.

"We firmly believe that Donald Trump is doing the work of ISIS," said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.

Leading in the polls in the Democratic race, Ms Clinton called for cooperation with the American Muslim community to prevent future terrorist attacks.

She said the US should be “making sure that Muslims American don’t feel left out and marginalised at the very moment when we need their help”.

She believed people were “reacting out of fear” after the recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, but called for unity and help from people in reporting anything suspicious.

During the debate, which put Ms Clinton up against Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley, Mr Sanders apologised to Ms Clinton for the actions of his staff in a data breach into her campaign.

Ms Clinton accepted the apology and was keen voters and the media “moved on” from the story, though an independent investigation will still take place into the case.

“I don’t think the American people are that interested in this,” she said.

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