Story highlights Donald Trump said Friday that calling for a ban on Christians would have been less controversial than his proposal to temporarily block Muslims from entering the U.S.

"If I would have said the same thing about Christians, I wouldn't have had the same uproar," Trump said

Florence, South Carolina (CNN) Donald Trump said Friday that calling for a ban on Christians would have been less controversial than his proposal to temporarily block Muslims from entering the U.S.

"If I would have said the same thing about Christians, I wouldn't have had the same uproar," Trump said at a rally here. "The whole thing is ridiculous."

Trump also accused President Barack Obama of apologizing to Muslims during a recent visit to a Baltimore mosque after listing off terrorist attacks carried out by radical Islamists -- from 9/11 to the shooting in San Bernardino, California, in December.

"And then President Obama yesterday goes into a mosque and he apologizes," Trump said as his crowd of thousands of supporters erupted in boos. "He goes in and he apologizes."

Trump did not specify what he believed Obama was apologizing for, but Obama made no mention of an apology during his visit on Wednesday to a Baltimore mosque.

Read More