Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Entertainment
Heather Saul

Donald Trump would ‘love to help’ with the refugee crisis, but says US has its own problems

Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up during Republican presidential debate. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images) (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

The refugee crisis has moved the public and politicians globally, with leaders in Britain, Germany and other countries vowing to accept a quota of those fleeing death and persecution.

But Donald Trump seemed less moved by the plight of thousands of families when asked if he would consider accepting any into the US by Fox News host Sean Hannity.

"From a humanitarian standpoint, I’d love to help, but we have our own problems," he told Hannity. "We have so many problems that we have to solve.

Donald Trump in quotes

“You have the Gulf States, tremendously wealthy, five groups of people, six groups - they’r not taking anybody. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain - these are tremendously wealthy - they’re not taking anybody!

"Russia’s not taking, nobody’s taking. We’re supposed to take? We have to straighten out our own problems. If Obama would have gone across the line that he drew, the artificial line in the sand that he drew, you wouldn't have this problem in the first place."

His comments appeared to contradict the more welcoming stance he demonstrated when appearing the O’Reilly Factor on Tuesday night, where he said the US should take in Syrian refugees.

Watch the full exchange below.

Read more: Donald Trump says US should accept refugees from Syria
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.