What are the Nominees saying about Iran, Islamic Radicalism and the Threat

We’ve scoured the speeches, interviews and statements of all 22 Democratic and Republican nominees and now bring them to you in one single, easy-to-navigate resource.

We will continue updating the information throughout the campaign so you will have all the facts at your fingertips to ask the right questions as election day approaches.

To what extent do candidates care about terror on American soil? What role should America play in the battle against the Islamic State? What about Iran – its nuclear program, terror and rampant human-rights abuses?

We’d love to hear your feedback too. And, if you’d like to help us in this important work, we’d appreciate your clicking on this link.

Learn more at ClarionProject.org.

Here is where the nominees stand on Iran, Islamic radicalism and the threats to the United States:


Jeb Bush

Former governor of Florida
Son of former president George H.W. Bush

“[Islam has] been hijacked by people who have an ideology that wants to destroy Western civilization, and they’re barbarians.”

View the Bush Platform


Ben Carson

Political activist and neurosurgeon
Famous for criticizing President Obama’s healthcare plan

Sees the war with Islamic extremism as ideological in nature.

View the Carson Platform


Chris Christie

Governor of New Jersey

As governor of New Jersey, Christie has had warm relationships with known Islamists, including an imam with ties to Hamas.

View the Christie Platform


Ted Cruz

Senator from Texas

A nuclear-armed Iran is “the single greatest National security threat” today.

View the Cruz Platform


Carly Fiorina

Former CEO of Hewlett Packard

“I believe that terrorists who kill in the name of Islam are subverting that religion.”

View the Fiorina Platform


Jim Gilmore

Former governor of Virginia. U.S. Army intelligence officer; served a three-year tour in West Germany as a counterintelligence agent

Gilmore endorsed an award given to Jamal Barzinji, an Islamist radical investigated for links to Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad

View the Gilmore Platform


Lindsey Graham

Senator from South Carolina
Former Congressman from South Carolina

“You’ll never have peace with radical Islam … They want a master religion for the world like the Nazis wanted a master race.”

View the Graham Platform


Mike Huckabee

Former governor of Arkansas

“The Bush administration has never adequately explained the theology and ideology behind Islamic terrorism or convinced us of its ruthless fanaticism. The first rule of war is ‘know your enemy,’ and most Americans do not know theirs.”

View the Huckabee Platform


Bobby Jindal

Louisiana Governor
Former Louisiana Congressman

Views the conflict as ideological and defines the enemy as ‘all forms of radical Islam’ and sharia law

View the Jindal Platform


John Kasich

Two-term Governor of Ohio Former Ohio Congressman

“U.S. should send ground forces to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group with an international coalition.”

View the Kasich Platform


George Pataki

Former governor of New York

“We must understand that a hatred of our values exists, and acknowledge that interventions in foreign countries may well exacerbate this hatred.”

View the Pataki Platform


Rand Paul

Senator from Kentucky

“We must understand that a hatred of our values exists, and acknowledge that interventions in foreign countries may well exacerbate this hatred.”

View the Paul Platform


Rick Perry

Former governor of Texas

“To every extremist, it has to be made clear: we will not allow you to exploit our tolerance, so that you can import your intolerance.”

View the Perry Platform


Marco Rubio

Senator from Florida

“There is no greater risk to this country than the risk posed by radical Islamic terrorists … We need to make it unmistakably clear that we will take whatever it takes for however long it takes to defeat radical Islamic terrorism.”

View the Rubio Platform


Sanders_Bernie_Portrait

Bernie Sanders

Senator from Vermont

”The war with the Islamic State is “a battle for the soul of Islam.”

View the Sanders Platform


Rick Santorum

Former Senator from Pennsylvania

“Terrorism is a tactic that is not an ideology. [You have to] identify the ideology … and realize that’s their motivation.”

View the Santorum Platform


Donald Trump

Billionaire real estate mogul and president of the Trump Organization

“I say that you can defeat ISIS by taking their wealth. Take back the oil. Once you go over and take back that oil, they have nothing. ”

View the Trump Platform


Scott Walker

Governor of Wisconsin

“U.S. strategy against Islamism must target the radical Islamic ideology and not just the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda terrorist groups ”

View the Walker Platform

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