--- ---  # Florida Gov. Rick Scott Won't Answer Questions on Trump's Views of Islam  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Mar 10, 2016 6:42 PM UTC  Florida Gov. Rick Scott as he visits the Marian Center which offers services for people with intellectual disabilities on July 13, 2015 in Miami Gardens, Fla. Florida Gov. Rick Scott as he visits the Marian Center which offers services for people with intellectual disabilities on July 13, 2015 in Miami Gardens, Fla.Joe Raedle/Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Mar 10, 2016 6:42 PM UTC Republican Florida Gov. Rick Scott [declined to directly answer questions](http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/florida-governor-explains-why-he-hasn-t-endorsed-641241667979?cid=sm%5Ftw%5Fmojoe) about whether he thinks Muslims in Florida hate America, leading MSNBC to end an interview early on Thursday. Scott skirted several questions about Islamic attitudes toward the U.S. during the interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” choosing instead to describe Florida as a “melting pot” where various demographics get along. The questions followed [comments made Wednesday](http://time.com/4253839/donald-trump-islam-hates-us-interview/) by Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, who accused Islam of hating the western world. “I think Islam hates us,” Trump said, supporting his [proposed temporary ban on Muslims](http://time.com/4139476/donald-trump-shutdown-muslim-immigration/) entering the U.S. “There is a tremendous hatred there. We have to get to the bottom of it.” In the Thursday interview, Joe Scarborough asked Scott if he would tell Trump to “walk back” the comments. In response, Scott said he opposes the immigration of Syrian refugees who haven’t been fully vetted. “Do you personally think that Islam is a religion that hates America?” Scarborough said. “We have a lot of Muslims that live in our state. We’ve got a lot of Latin Americans that live in our state,” Scott said. “We all get along. We love people moving to our state and coming here as tourists. We’re a great melting pot. That’s what I can tell you about our state.” > [](https://twitter.com/Morning%5FJoe/status/707911577932931072) Earlier in the segment, Scott declined to endorse a candidate for the Republican nomination, saying he trusted voters to make the best decision. Watch the video [here](http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc-news/watch/florida-governor-explains-why-he-hasn-t-endorsed-641241667979?cid=sm%5Ftw%5Fmojoe). Rick Scott Won't Respond to Donald Trump Comment on Islam ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4254236/florida-governor-rick-scott-questions-islam-america-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4254236/florida-governor-rick-scott-questions-islam-america-donald-trump/"},"headline":"Florida Gov. Rick Scott Won't Answer Questions on Trump's Views of Islam","datePublished":"2016-03-10T18:42:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:48:09.503Z","description":"MSNBC ended his interview abruptly","url":"https://time.com/4254236/florida-governor-rick-scott-questions-islam-america-donald-trump/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdddedc301ada842d/69888a7b524fc03903df7212/rick-scott-msnbc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdddedc301ada842d/69888a7b524fc03903df7212/rick-scott-msnbc.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Florida Gov. Rick Scott Holds Bill Signing In Miami Gardens","caption":"Florida Gov. Rick Scott Holds Bill Signing In Miami Gardens","creditText":"Joe Raedle/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4254236/florida-governor-rick-scott-questions-islam-america-donald-trump/","name":"Florida Gov. Rick Scott Won't Answer Questions on Trump's Views of Islam"}}]}] ```