Ahmed Mohamed, a high school student who was detained on Wednesday after bringing a homemade clock to school, became an issue in the 2016 presidential race after President Obama invited the teen from Irving, Texas to the White House.
GOP debate moderator Jake Tapper used the detention of Mohamed -- who brought the clock to school to show his teacher but was instead handcuffed and placed in juvenile -- to frame a question to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal about the balance between vigilance and discrimination.
#AhmedMohamed question at #CNNDebate ... how would you strike balance between vigilance and discrimination...— Zach Wolf (@zbyronwolf) September 16, 2015
At first, Jindal used the question to launch a riff on Muslim extremists, saying it’s not enough to “denounce just simply generic acts of violence, they’ve got to denounce the individuals by name.”
“We’re at war today with radical Islamic extremists,” Jindal said. "It’s not politically correct to say that, but the way you fight that battle is you say to Muslim leaders denounce these fools, these radical terrorists by name, say they’re not martyrs.”
Ultimately though, after promoting from Tapper, Jindal said he believed Mohamed should not have been arrested.
“I don’t think a 14-year-old should ever get arrested for bringing a clock to school,” he said. “Are you asking me am I glad he was released? I am glad that police are careful. I’m glad they’re worried about security and safety issues.”
"I don't think a 14-year old should ever get arrested for bringing a clock to school." -- Bobby Jindal #leadership #IStandWithAhmed— Jennifer Bendery (@jbendery) September 16, 2015