Columbia, SC (WLTX) - South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley says GOP Presidential Candidate Donald Trump's idea that Muslims shouldn't be allowed into the United States is both unconstitutional and un-American.
Haley was asked by reporters Tuesday afternoon for her response to a proposal put forth by the billionaire a day earlier.
"It's just an embarrassment to the Republican Party," she said. "It defies everything this country was based on and it's just wrong."
In A statement released on his website Monday, Trump said that he was "calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." To bolster his claim, he said that there's research and polling that suggests that there is "great hatred towards Americans by a large segments of the Muslim population."
The idea's gotten condemnation from political leaders and pundits across the political spectrum, including many of his rivals for the GOP nomination. Related Coverage: Trump Doesn't Back Down on Call for Muslim Ban
Haley, who has not endorsed one of the candidates running for her party's nomination, said religious-based tests aren't a good idea.
"The freedoms that we receive are always allowing us to be free in all acts of life. To suddenly decide to pass laws that are based on religion or pass acceptances or rejections based on religion is not only unconstitutional it's un-American."
"Mr. Trump has to be very careful about the things he suggests. This is serious. This is the country. This is a country we all hold dear. This isn't about ratings and it's not about saying things that get political talking points. We're in a situation we've never been in before, and we have to be very serious about this and think about every aspect about this before we open our mouth and say something"
