Just days after declining to say whether the U.S. should take in more Syrian refugees, Governor Scott Walker is offering a more definitive answer.
When asked by reporters on Monday how he would handle the Syrian refugee crisis if he were president, Walker said “I’m not president today and I can’t be president today,” adding that “Everybody wants to talk about hypotheticals; there is no such thing as a hypothetical.”
Asked about his response Wednesday in Eau Claire, the Republican presidential hopeful offered a much clearer position on the issue. He told reporters “the answer is no, we shouldn’t be taking on any more Syrian refugees right now.”
Walker said the U.S. is already doing more than any other country in the world to help refugees. “American has…received almost 70,000 refugees, of which nearly 2,000 are from Syria. We’ve spent something like $4 billion in humanitarian relief,” he said.
AUDIO: Gov. Scott Walker on Syrian refugees (1:21)
The governor called the refugee issue a “symptom” of a bigger problem – namely the influence of ISIS and President Barack Obama’s approaching to dealing with the Islamic group. “They drew a line in the sand, that opened the door to the problems in Syria,” he argued. “They withdrew out of Iraq too early, therefore opening the ground for ISIS to claim more territory.”
Walker said the U.S. needs to “step up” with its allies to make sure they eradicate ISIS.
Affiliate WAYY contributed to this report.