It might be quite entertaining to watch Republican presidential hopefuls Donald Trump and Ted Cruz fling mud at each other. It might even be just as entertaining to see how the two candidates attempt to outdo the other when it comes to immigration. As entertaining as it is to watch, however, it seems like other world leaders are not very amused.
In an interview last Sunday, America's top diplomat, Secretary of State John Kerry, stated that the ongoing proposals put forward by the GOP presidential hopefuls about banning Muslims from immigrating to the U.S. and increasing the surveillance of Muslim neighborhoods are an "embarrassment" to American politics.
According to Kerry, the strong rhetoric, as much as it is effective to sway the viewpoints of voters, have started to alarm world leaders.
"Everywhere I go, every leader I meet, they ask about what is happening in America. They cannot believe it. I think it is fair to say they're shocked. It upsets people's sense of equilibrium about our steadiness, about our reliability. It's clear to me that what's happening is an embarrassment to our country," Kerry said.
Though the diplomat did not specifically call out any of the Republican candidates, it is quite simple to figure out which among the GOP candidates have alarmed foreign leaders. After all, Republican candidate Donald Trump and his rival, Ted Cruz, have both issued bold proposals when it comes to handling immigration-related issues.
Last December, Republican front-runner Donald Trump proposed to fully ban Muslims from entering the United States. Though Trump stated that the ban would be temporary, it nonetheless invited much criticism from numerous advocates.
Apart from banning Muslims from entering the country, Trump also expressed his desire to bring back torture as a means of interrogation for suspected terrorists. Speaking of the deadly terror attacks on Brussels, Trump said that torturing one of the captured suspected terrorists might have resulted in information that could have prevented the attack.
Not to be outdone by his rival, Ted Cruz also suggested that law enforcement must assertively increase their patrols on Muslim neighborhoods in order to prevent them from being radicalized.
Of course, such rhetoric has triggered massive criticism from the candidates' critics, as well as apprehension among Muslims in the United States. Considering Kerry's statement, the criticism extends far beyond the borders of the United States.
