Today’s Sonia Kruger Comes Under Fire for Calling to Stop Muslim Migration to Australia

Today Extra host Sonia Kruger has come under fire for calling to stop Muslim migration in Australia, in Monday’s episode of the show.

She also took to Twitter her reaction to a column written by Andrew Bolt on the Today Extra’s Mixed Grill segment with host Lisa Wilkinson and David Campbell. She posted:

Kruger sparked online fury on Monday morning after she linked the number of Muslims entering a country to the number of terrorist attacks occurring. “I think Andrew Bolt has a point, there is a correlation between the number of people who are Muslim in a country and the number of terrorist attacks,” Kruger said.

She also said that she wanted to “feel safe” in the country. “Personally, I would like to see it stop now for Australia because I want to feel safe as all of our citizens do when we go out to celebrate Australia Day,” she said.

Her reactions also drew a passionate response from the morning show’s co-host David Campbell, who interrupted her as she began to talk about journalists being ‘threatened’ and freedom of speech.

Campbell said: ‘I’d like to see freedom of religion as well! As well as freedom of speech! They both go hand and hand!’

“We’re talking about immigration, David,” Kruger replied. She then asked if people were allowed to talk about the issue. “So you’re not allowed to talk about it? You’re not allowed to discuss it?”

“I would venture that if you spoke to the parents of those children killed in Nice then they would be of the same opinion,” she said.

Wilkinson then said that closing the borders to Muslims was the ‘Donald Trump approach’. ‘Well, perhaps it is,’ Kruger said. ‘For the safety of our citizens here I think it’s important’.

Kruger’s name was among those trending on Twitter and her Facebook page was flooded with thousands of comments.

Meanwhile, Channel Nine has defended Kruger since the comments aired, releasing a statement on Monday afternoon.

“Nine’s view is that we believe in freedom of speech and the Mixed Grill segment on the Today Show is a place where that happens. Sonia, David and Lisa each expressed a variety of opinions on the show this morning,” the statement read.

Yesterday, Kruger opened the episode of Today Extra with an emotional statement addressing her controversial comments about banning Muslims from Australia. She said that she was ‘rocked to the core’ after seeing a photo of a child’s dead body in Nice last week.

“I saw the image of a baby covered in a plastic sheet with a doll lying beside her and it rocked me to the very core,” she said.

Kruger faced the camera emotional and teary-eyed as she explained her opinion in yesterday’s episode.

” We witnessed too many atrocities in the name of terrorism. Last week’s attack on men, women and children in Nice left me in utter disbelief.

“I acknowledge my views yesterday may have been extreme. The reaction overnight in the papers, online and via social media demonstrates that there are a myriad of opinions in Australia which I actually appreciate. It is a hugely complex and sensitive issue. It’s an issue with no simple answer. And it’s an issue that cannot be fully discussed in a short televised segment.

“Is there a solution? I don’t know. We elect politicians to make those calls. They analyse and then they decide and we hope they get it right. It’s a privilege to live in a country such as Australia which embraces a multicultural society. But there is no simple answer here and if we are to find a solution to the situation at the very least we need to be able to discuss it.”

Source: Dailymail.co.uk, Huffingtonpost.com.au and News.com.au