White House Says Trump's Call to Halt Muslims Entering US Against US Values

US presidential hopeful Donald Trump’s statement that Washington should stop allowing Muslims to enter the country is "totally contrary" to the US values, a White House official said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Monday, Trump called on the United States to stop the arrivals of all Muslims until a counterterrorism plan was established.

"It's totally contrary to our values as Americans. We have in our Bill of Rights respect for the freedom of religion. It's also contrary to our security," White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told CNN, as quoted by the Evening Standard newspaper.

Trump cited a Center for Security Policy poll released in June 2015 that found that 25 percent of Muslims agree violence against Americans in the United States is justified as part of the global jihad while 51 percent of those polled agreed that Muslims in America should have the choice of being governed according to Sharia.

The presidential candidate has made numerous controversial statements about Muslims during his presidential campaign. In November, he said on two separate occasions that they were celebrating the September 11, 2001, extremist attacks in the United States and proposed a mandatory database of Muslims.