6:51pm
They’re back. And directly back to Trump, who said “Islam hates us.” Did you mean all 1.6bn Muslims?
“I mean a lot of them. I mean a lot of them,” Trump says.
“There’s something going on, that maybe you don’t know about...and I will stick with exactly what I said.”
He’s applauded.
Rubio is asked about supporter Senator Jeff Flake who called Trump’s comments not in keeping with the Republican party.
“Presidents just can’t say anything they want. It has consequences, here and around the world.”
Applause line.
He says he met missionaries in Bangladesh who rely on friendly Muslims who told him that today because of leading US figures saying Americans don’t like Muslims – it’s hard to work as a missionary in Bangladesh.
Trump gets the mic back and invokes 9/11. “I don’t want to be so politically correct, I like to solve problems,” Trump says. “Large portions of a group of people, Islam,” want to attack the US. “There is tremendous hatred.”
“I’m not interested in being politically correct,” Rubio replies. “I’m interested in being correct.” He says that Islam has a problem on its hands, but that the USA must work with Jordan, the Saudis, gulf states and Egypt – “people of the Muslim faith, even as Islam faces a crisis.”
Strong applause. The crowd awards the exchange to Rubio.
Kasich says he does not believe that “Islam hates us.” He recapitulates Rubio’s point that the USA needs Muslim partners to combat “radical Islam.”
Kasich says radical Islam is an enemy of “other Muslims.”