Cruz Faces Backlash After Call for Muslim Surveillance

ByBRIAN MCBRIDE ABCNews logo
Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's call for patrolling Muslim neighborhoods in the wake of the Brussels terror attacks has sparked a backlash on Twitter.

The trending hashtag #MyMuslimNeighborhood calls out the latest controversial remarks made by the Republican presidential hopeful with messages ranging from the humorous to heartfelt. Most users called for unity to dispel Muslim stereotypes.

"In #MyMuslimNeighborhood, we stand side-by-side against bigotry, hate and intolerance," one user tweeted.

Another simply seemed to want to have Cruz over for pizza.

"Salaam, good evening! I cordially invite you to share a wonderful vegetarian pizza in #MyMuslimNeighborhood."

Democratic front runner Hillary Clinton condemned Cruz's comments during a rally in Seattle Tuesday as "dangerous" and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton has also slammed the remarks.

During a press conference with Argentine President Mauricio Macri, President Obama said Cruz's comments don't align with American values.

"One of the great strengths of the U.S. and why we haven't seen more attacks in U.S. is we have an extraordinarily successful patriotic, integrated Muslim-American community," he said. "The notion that we would start down that slippery slope makes absolutely no sense, it's contrary to who we are and it's not going to help us defeat ISIL."

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