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Donald Trump Dismisses Al-Shabaab Video

by Melissah Yang

In an interview on CBS' Face The Nation Sunday, Donald Trump dismissed a reported al Shabaab recruitment video that sampled his past disparaging remarks against Muslims. The al Qaeda-affiliated group's video comes weeks after Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton blasted Trump for his anti-Muslim sentiments at a primary debate and claimed the Republican was ISIS' best recruitment tool. But the video's appearance seems to have little impact on Trump's campaign, which continues to gain steam with voters despite what would normally be a major hiccup to any other candidate.

When asked whether he was concerned about the video, Trump told host John Dickerson, "They use other people, too. What am I going to do? I have to say what I have to say. And you [know] what I have to say? There's a problem. We have to find out what is a problem. And we have to solve that problem."

The al Shabaab video shows Trump telling supporters at a campaign rally, "Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shut down of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representative can figure out what the f*** is going on." The recruiter also mentions dark moments in U.S. history, such as slavery, lynching, and the Ku Klux Klan.

Clinton sparked a backlash for her claim that Trump was in an ISIS video, since none had ever surfaced, and Trump had no problem making another dig at Clinton via Twitter Sunday by pointing out that al Shabaab and ISIS were not the same. But Trump's whole "potato-potahto" business is irrelevant. Even if it's not ISIS, at least one known terrorist group isn't afraid to use Trump's xenophobic statements as a way to frame America as an anti-Muslim country. Why is the video suddenly not a big deal if it's not ISIS?

Trump's dangerous words have bled outside U.S. borders, and whether those remarks will return to haunt this country remains to be seen. If Trump succeeds in winning the White House, he may prove to be a man of his word, and that could create more problems for this country.