White House says Donald Trump has disqualified himself from presidency

Press Secretary Josh Earnest also called out Republicans for standing by Donald Trump

Josh Earnest speaks to reporters in Washington DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

The White House has heavily criticised Donald Trump for his incendiary comments aimed at Muslims.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Mr Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US had disqualified him from becoming president.

"What Donald Trump said yesterday disqualifies him to serve as president,” he said during the daily press briefing.

“And for Republican candidates running for election, to stand by their pledge to support Mr Trump, that in and of itself is disqualifying.”

Secretary Earnest previously told MSNBC on Monday that it would be generous to call Mr Trump's rhetoric a "proposal."

"I think what Mr Trump is doing is something that he's been doing over the course of his entire campaign, which is to play on people's fears in order to build support for his campaign," he said. "I think what he's doing, he's dividing America in a really cynical way."