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Scott Walker: If I can handle 100,000 protesters, I can defeat ISIS
Reuters Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), a leading candidate for president in 2016, just implied that massive protests against his administration show he has the mental strength necessary to take on the Islamic State group (also known as ISIS).
While taking questions following his Thursday speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, Walker was asked how he would defeat the Islamic State jihadists in the Middle East. Walker responded by pointing to his track record of surviving raucous protests and tough elections.
"We need a leader with that kind of confidence. If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world," he declared.
Walker said if he were president, he would send a clear message to terrorists that the US will do everything in its power to halt their violence.
"I want a commander in chief who will do everything in their power to ensure that the threat from radical Islamic terrorists [does] not wash up on American soil," he said. "We will have someone who leads and ultimately will send a message that not only that we will protect American soil, but, 'Do not take this upon freedom-loving people anywhere else in the world.'"
Walker also said he predicted the rise of the Islamic State long before they were seizing wide swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria at the start of last year.
"As a governor, I actually get a threat assessment from the FBI," he said. "Without divulging confidential information, I would tell you for years I've been concerned about that threat not just abroad but on American soil."
Update (10:07 p.m.): Walker's campaign spokeswoman emailed Business Insider with the following statement: "Governor Walker believes our fight against ISIS is one of the most important issues our country faces. He was in no way comparing any American citizen to ISIS. What the governor was saying was when faced with adversity he chooses strength and leadership. Those are the qualities we need to fix the leadership void this White House has created."
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