--- title: Donald Trump Dismisses Clip in al-Shabaab Recruitment Video description: Donald Trump shrugged off his appearance in a terrorist-recruitment video in an interview Sunday, saying, "What am I going to do?" canonical: https://time.com/4165638/trump-dismisses-appearance-in-terrorist-recruitment-video/ author: Charlotte Alter article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-03T17:15:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:55.291Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Dismisses Appearance in Terrorist-Recruitment Video og:description: Terrorist group used his remarks on Muslims to appeal to new members. og:url: https://time.com/4165638/trump-dismisses-appearance-in-terrorist-recruitment-video/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10de2b4cb1596fb7/698877533c1639723245b63f/donald-trump2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Donald Trump Holds Rally In Biloxi, Mississippi og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Dismisses Appearance in Terrorist-Recruitment Video twitter:description: Terrorist group used his remarks on Muslims to appeal to new members. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt10de2b4cb1596fb7/698877533c1639723245b63f/donald-trump2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Dismisses Appearance in Terrorist-Recruitment Video > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=41375b90-ade5-4a95-824d-f53e25d8cf55&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Donald Trump’s Anti-Islam Rhetoric Gets Featured In New Al Qaeda Video [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump’s Anti-Islam Rhetoric Gets Featured In New Al Qaeda Video](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/G4UuhIxB.m3u8) (0:53)  _Published 2016-01-02. Al-Shabab, Al-Qaeda’s Somali affiliate, has released a new video featuring Donald Trump’s call to ban all Muslims from the United States._  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Jan 3, 2016 5:15 PM UTC  Donald Trump speaks at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum on Jan. 2, 2016 in Biloxi, Mississippi. Donald Trump speaks at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum on Jan. 2, 2016 in Biloxi, Mississippi. Spencer Platt—Getty Images  by [Charlotte Alter](https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Senior Correspondent Jan 3, 2016 5:15 PM UTC Donald Trump shrugged off his appearance in a terrorist-recruitment video in an interview Sunday, saying, “What am I going to do?” The Republican presidential front-runner [told CBS’s John Dickerson on _Face the Nation_](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-responds-to-being-used-in-terrorist-video/) that he was not especially disturbed by the fact that a video of his remarks about Muslims appears in a recruitment video for al-Shaabab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group. The video clip shows [Trump calling for a “total and complete shutdown” of Muslims entering the U.S.](http://time.com/4139476/donald-trump-shutdown-muslim-immigration/) “I have to say what I have to say,” he told Dickerson of the recruitment video. “And you know what I have to say? There’s a problem. We have to find out what is the problem. And we have to solve that problem.” He also swung a few insults at President Obama. “When I watch President Obama say, ‘Global warming is our biggest problem,’ it’s just so sad to watch,” Trump said. “And he doesn’t want to use the words _radical Islam_. He doesn’t want to use anything having to do with radical and Islam. So until he’s willing to admit the problem, how can you not at least talk about the problem?” The Obama White House condemned the notion that the U.S. is at war with an entire religion. “We have said now for weeks, if not months, that any indication that supports the notion that the United States is at war with Islam will be taken advantage of by terrorist organizations who depend on propagating that narrative to recruit people,” Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes [told reporters ](http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-01-03/trump-shrugs-off-appearance-in-somali-terrorist-recruitment-video)Saturday. “Clearly we need to defeat terrorists, we need to kill terrorists on the battlefield. We also need to defeat this narrative that allows them to recruit people.” Trump also threw in a few punches at 2016 Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton “I think women don’t like Hillary Clinton,” he said. “And they tell me, ‘You have to beat her. You have to win. She’s a terrible person. She’s a terrible person.’ Women are telling me that.” He also alleged that Clinton “caused the migration” and has “caused tremendous death with incompetent decisions.” ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ FOREIGN ] Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States. [ APPLAUSE ] Until Until our countries representatives can figure out. [ MUSIC ] The west will eventually turn against its Muslim citizens. 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