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Republican candidates slam Obama mosque visit; Bush strikes different tone

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (KUNA) -- Republican presidential candidates were on the attack this week after US President Barack Obama gave his first-ever speech from a mosque in Baltimore, Maryland on Wednesday, where he assured Muslims that their religion has been a part of this nation since it was founded.
Real-estate mogul Donald Trump, who in recent years has accused Obama of not being an American and demanded the president produce his birth certificate, told Fox News that Obama "maybe... feels comfortable" at the mosque, suggesting that he is not a Christian. "There are a lot of places he can go, and he chose a mosque," Trump said.
Late Friday, Trump also told a crowd in Florence, South Carolina that Obama "apologizes" to Muslims.
"I mean, what's going on?" Trump said, adding that Christianity is now "under siege." Religion remains a core issue for many of the southern and rural states, where a candidate's devotion to his or her faith can significantly impact the ballot box.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio told a crowd in Dover, New Hampshire that Obama's remarks were "basically implying that America is discriminating against Muslims." He added: "Of course there's going to be discrimination in America of every kind. But the bigger issue is radical Islam. And by the way, radical Islam poses a threat to Muslims themselves." But it was former Florida Governor Jeb Bush - once considered a frontrunner but whose numbers are dwindling by the week - who stood by the president's actions, as he tried to set himself apart from his competition for the White House.
"I don't criticize the president to go to a mosque and to assure that people they shouldn't be discriminated against," he told reporters in Tilton, New Hampshire. "I think that is more than appropriate as the leader of our country." Jeb's older brother, George W. Bush, gave remarks from a mosque in Washington shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001, in which he stressed that the violent actions of a few does not represent the Muslim faith or its adherents.
"I don't think its divisive to go speak in a mosque, I'm surprised it took his eighth year to do it," the younger Bush said.
Trump remains the frontrunner for the GOP at 31 percent, followed by Texas senator Ted Cruz at 22 percent, and then Florida Senator Marco Rubio at 19 percent, according to the latest Quinnipiac poll.(end) ys.tg