US president Barack Obama has said anti-Muslim rhetoric from US presidential hopeful Donald Trump is “not the America we want”.
Mr Obama is arguing that treating Muslim-Americans differently will not make the US safer.
He said it will make the country less safe by fuelling the notion among followers of the Islamic State group that the West hates Muslims.
Mr Obama lashed out a day after Mr Trump expanded on his proposal to temporarily ban foreign Muslims from entering the US.
Mr Obama said the US was founded on freedom of religion and that there are no religious tests in America.
He said such talk makes Muslim-Americans feel like their government is betraying them.
Mr Obama commented after meeting with his national security advisers on the threat posed by IS. He also was briefed on the investigation into the Orlando nightclub shooting.
