If you wanted another example of how Donald Trump -- who helped lead the "birther" movement against President Obama during his first term in office -- has negatively impacted the Republican presidential race, look no further than the last 72 hours. After Trump declined to correct a New Hampshire man's anti-Obama, anti-Muslim claims, the subject became another topic for GOP candidates to address. Then Ben Carson received this question on "Meet the Press": Should faith matter at all when judging someone to serve as president? Carson's answer: "I would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation. I absolutely would not agree with that." Carson's campaign later tried to clarify his remarks. "He did not say that a Muslim should be prevented from running, or barred from running in any way," spokesman Doug Watts told NBC's Hallie Jackson. "Dr. Carson is a strict adherent to the 1st Amendment -- freedom of religion. That includes people of all faith. He has great respect for the Muslim community, but there is a huge gulf between the faith and practice of the Muslim faith, and our Constitution and American values." And Carson's comments became fodder for the rest of the GOP field, forcing the other candidates to respond.
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