Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures during the first Republican presidential debate at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP Photo, John Minchillo
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gestures during the first Republican presidential debate at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP Photo, John Minchillo

(by The Associated Press) The White House says any Republican presidential candidate too scared of the Republican political base to condemn Donald Trump shouldn’t be president.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest says Trump’s plan to bar Muslims from entering the US is disqualifying.

“What Donald Trump said yesterday disqualifies him from serving as president,” he says, adding every Republican presidential candidate should say that they wouldn’t support Trump if he is the party’s nominee.

Earnest described Trump’s campaign as a “carnival-barker routine.”

The White House is deeming Trump’s rhetoric on Muslims as harmful to the United States and its national security. Earnest says it’s “offensive and toxic” and clearly shows Trump lacks the judgment to be president.

Trump’s proposal has been condemned by many Republican candidates but cheered by many Trump supporters.