Leon Panetta said Donald Trump is "doing the exact opposite" of uniting the country. Panetta: Trump 'aiding and abetting' terrorists with rhetoric

Leon Panetta on Thursday suggested that Donald Trump's plan to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. and to revive surveillance of mosques "is basically aiding and abetting the enemy."

"I have to tell you in 50 years of public life, I have never experienced a major party candidate making the accusations and raising the innuendos that Donald Trump raised, particularly at this moment of crisis," the former defense secretary and CIA director remarked on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports" in discussing Trump's response to the Orlando, Florida, terrorist attack on Sunday morning that killed 49 people.


Trump is "doing the exact opposite" of unifying the country and building a consensus, Panetta said, referring to the presumptive Republican nominee's comments Monday that President Barack Obama is not fighting terrorism as tough as he could because he could have "something else in mind."

"He's not only accusing the president of the United States of treason and collaborating with the enemy, but in many ways what he's saying about restricting Muslims from coming into this country, doing surveillance on Muslim mosques is basically aiding and abetting the enemy at a time when we ought to be unifying, working with the Muslim community to try to prevent against future attacks," Panetta continued. "I think it’s the most irresponsible and reckless kind of behavior I’ve ever seen in a major presidential candidate."