Earlier this month, Newsday columnist and Fox News contributor James Pinkerton joined former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s presidential campaign as a “senior adviser” who “will work at the intersection of policy and strategic messaging”. Pinkerton, who worked in the White House under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, says he “felt called” to join Huckabee’s campaign.
Three months before Pinkerton joined the campaign, he recorded an episode of Bloggingheads.tv with Mother Jones editor David Corn. During their conversation, Pinkerton declared that he would handle “American Muslims” by putting “a cop in front of every mosque” in America.
PINKERTON: You asked me what I would do about American Muslims. Answer is I’d put a cop in front of every mosque until I was completely satisfied nothing was going on there.
CORN: You’d put a cop in front of every mosque?
PINKERTON: That’s what I said. […]
CORN: I mean, do you have any proof that every mosque deserves a cop in front of it?
PINKERTON: I said, I would put one in there just for safe keeping all the way around.