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28 of 59 Questions at Tuesday's White House Briefing Were About Trump

Donald Trump / AP
December 8, 2015

During Tuesday's White House press briefing, spokesman Josh Earnest was asked 59 questions. Of those questions, 28 were about Donald Trump and his recent comments about barring Muslims from coming into the United States.

The remaining 31 questions ranged from the omnibus to terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, California.

Earnest repeatedly said that Trump's comment should be a disqualification for someone who wants to seek the highest office in the country. He also said that the Republicans who would support Trump for president should also be disqualified.

One reporter asked Earnest in light of Trump's comments if the president was going to do anything more than call for more tolerance toward Muslims. Earnest said he did not have any updates to the president's schedule.

"Let me just step back and say that the Trump campaign for months now has had a dustbin of history-like quality to it. From the vacuous sloganeering to the outright lies, to even the fake hair, the whole carnival barker routine that we have seen for some time now. The question now is for the rest of the Republican Party is if they will be dragged into the dustbin of history with him," Earnest said.

April Ryan had asked Earnest whether the president had spoken with any world leaders about Trump's comments and if it had damaged any relations. Earnest did not have any phone calls to read out to the press corps.

The most questions about Trump's comment came from CNN's Michelle Kosinski, who had six.

After quite a few more questions on Trump, Mara Liasson of National Public Radio asked Earnest about his prepared remarks in which he made fun of Trump's hair. Liasson called Earnest's remarks "Trumpian" and not very Obama-like.

"Well, I guess I was describing why it would be easy for people to dismiss the Trump campaign as not very serious because he has a rather outrageous appearance," Earnest said.

Liasson pushed the spokesman on his comments and pointed out that his comments would be exactly what Trump would say. Earnest said it was a hallmark of the Trump campaign and that was the point that he was making.

Earnest was asked how he knew Trump's hair was fake and said that he was willing to be fact-checked.