The Note: Trump Takes On His Critics

— -- NOTABLES

--WHAT DONALD TOLD BARBARA: In an exclusive interview with ABC's BARBARA WALTERS yesterday, Donald Trump, currently at the center of a political firestorm over his proposed ban on Muslims entering the U.S., responded to critics' concerns that his rhetoric might help ISIS attract new recruits. "I'm the worst thing that ever happened to ISIS. The people in my party fully understand that -- they're running against me. For the most part, they have no poll numbers. I'm leading by a lot. They get it. They're trying to get publicity for themselves," Trump said. "You know when I came out against illegal immigration, everybody said the same thing. Two weeks later, everybody was on my side, including the members of my own party." As ABC's ENJOLI FRANCIS notes, Trump released a statement on Monday calling for a "total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the U.S. until "our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." "It's short term," he told Walters of the proposed ban. "Let our country get its act together. ... It could be very quickly if our country could get its act together. ... We need toughness and smartness and we have to do it quickly." When asked whether he regretted the proposal, Trump said: "Not at all. We have to do the right thing. Somebody in this country has to say what's right." http://abcn.ws/1TzIFYI

--TRUMP SUPPORTERS STAND BY THEIR MAN: One supporter from Florida who attended Trump's campaign rally in South Carolina Monday night said the recent terrorist attacks were motivation for supporting Trump's proposed policy. "Look what's going on over in Paris and what went on in San Bernardino," Edward Garcia said. "We have to be vigilant and stand up to them. It's very important." ABC's JOHN SANTUCCI and MEGHAN KENEALLY have more: http://abcn.ws/1YWR8c2

--BUT SOME VOTERS BRISTLE: Voters outside of the Republican front-runner's sphere of support expressed disgust, even horror at his comments. "Just uncouth and completely thoughtless and violent itself, I thought," said William Whate, of Newton, Iowa, when asked about Trump's plan. Across the country in another early nominating state -- New Hampshire -- Jack, a local Manchester bartender, thought a Hitler comparison was more apt when referring to Trump. "He's on his way to develop the perfect race ... or religion," he said. Trump still leads in national and many state polls (including a CNN/WMUR poll of New Hampshire Republican voters released on Tuesday) and his supporters generally remain fiercely loyal. But, his most recent comments seem to be giving even a few Trump enthusiasts pause.

--ANALYSIS -- ABC's RICK KLEIN: Presidential campaigns reveal things about the nation, even if we don't and won't always like what we see. So it is that Donald Trump's unserious, unworkable, and probably unconstitutional proposal to ban Muslims from entering the US is drawing swift, bipartisan condemnation -- even while there's little suggestion it will hurt him in the polls. It's more than possible that a third of Republican primary voters agree with him, or at least would excuse him in the context of the spirit with which they think the proposal was offered. Cue the statements -- rare public breaks from House Speaker Paul Ryan, the national Republican Party, and state party chairs in New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Iowa; Jeb Bush is calling Trump "unhinged," and Chris Christie is labeling it "ridiculous." (Ted Cruz and Rand Paul are breaking less completely, of course.) Trump may not be the GOP nominee, though this doesn't look like it would be the reason his supporters dump him. It could, however, serve as a unifying and clarifying moment for a Republican Party grappling with the real possibility that he could be the nominee. Dumping Trump is looking more like a process than a single event. But a united Republican Party holds the hope of turning the hope that Trump will fade into an actual strategy.

TODAY ON THE TRAIL with ABC's RYAN STRUYK: Donald Trump will be on "LIVE with Kelly and Michael" this morning at 9 a.m. Eastern but has no other scheduled campaign events today. This comes after announcing a trip to Israel before the end of the year yesterday. Ben Carson, who announced a trip to Nigeria, Kenya and Zambia earlier this week, will be in Ypsilanti, Michigan this afternoon for a town hall meeting. The former frontrunner has dropped in recent early state and national polling, giving way to the emergence of Ted Cruz, who is off the trail today. Marco Rubio, now second only to Trump in a new CNN/WMUR New Hampshire poll, is also in the Mitten State, holding a rally later this afternoon in Waterford Township, Michigan. Carly Fiorina is in New Hampshire today trying to make up ground and John Kasich is in New York City at the Council on Foreign Relations. On the Democratic side, frontrunner Hillary Clinton -- leading in new national and Iowa polls released yesterday -- has a busy day with three events scheduled in the first-in-the-nation state of Iowa this afternoon. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders, is off the trail today. Martin O'Malley is in California for a town hall.

THE BUZZ

with ABC's VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and PAOLA CHAVEZ

WHITE HOUSE: TRUMP'S PLAN HARMS NATIONAL SECURITY. Donald Trump's proposal to bar Muslims from entering the U.S. is "harmful" to the country's national security, top Obama administration officials said Tuesday about the Republican front-runner. "We certainly do believe that this is harmful to the country and it's contrary to our values," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. In an interview on MSNBC, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Trump's comments are damaging law enforcement and intelligence efforts to protect national security. " Speaking in Paris Tuesday, Secretary of State John Kerry said Trump's comments aren't "constructive," ABC'S ARLETTE SAENZ reports. http://abcn.ws/1ISk8IE

GOP CANDIDATES STAY ON THE ATTACK. GOP presidential candidates continue to denounce Trump's plans for banning Muslims from entering the U.S., calling his proposal "a violation of our Constitution," "wrong" and "impossible to enforce." After a town hall meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, GOP candidate Carly Fiorina suggested that Trump's idea was a reaction to a poll released Monday by Monmouth University showing Texas Sen. Ted Cruz ahead of Trump in Iowa."I think Donald Trump's comments this morning have as much to do with Ted Cruz doing well in the last week as anything else," Fiorina told ABC News. ABC'S JOSH HASKELL, JESSICA HOPPER and ALI DUKAKIS report a CNN poll released Monday, however, showed Trump leading in the state. http://abcn.ws/1NgujIY

NOTED: TRUMP SHRUGS OFF HITLER COMPARISON. Donald Trump's plan to ban Muslims from entering the U.S. has prompted a comparison to Adolf Hitler, but that hasn't given the GOP presidential front-runner any pause. Asked whether "increasingly being compared to Hitler" is cause for concern, Trump said on GMA Tuesday he instead finds comfort in what he sees as his proposal's similarity to the work of a previous U.S. president. "No, because what I'm doing is no different than FDR," Trump said during a phone interview Tuesday morning. The most pointed comparison between Trump and Hitler came this morning when the Philadelphia Daily News published a picture of Trump holding his right hand up at what appears to be a speech, with the headline "The New Furor," ABC's MEGHAN KENEALLY notes. http://abcn.ws/1HT2jyd

CLINTON TIES TRUMP TO OTHER REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES. During a campaign event tonight, Hillary Clinton once again slammed Donald Trump for his latest proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States, but also continued to push forth her message that all of the other Republican candidates are not much different -- part of a larger Democratic strategy to contrast the two parties, ABC's LIZ KREUTZ notes. "Some of his Republican candidates are saying that his latest comments have gone too far," Clinton said inside the gymnasium of a middle school in Salem, New Hampshire. "But the truth is, many of them have also said extreme things about Muslims. Their language may be more veiled than Trump's, but their ideas are not so different." "They are all driving the exact narrative that Jihadists want to advance. That we are at war not with barbarous, violent, murderers but with an entire religion. This is a grave mistake," she added. http://abcn.ws/1Quxdhy

SANDERS CALLS DONALD TRUMP'S POLICY PROPOSAL TO BAN MUSLIMS 'CRAP'. Sen. Bernie Sanders isn't one to mince words, and that certainly held true for his first public comments about a fellow presidential hopeful, ABC's MATTHEW CLAIBORNE notes. The Democratic presidential candidate appeared on an episode of "The Tonight Show" Starring Jimmy Fallon" last night and Fallon jumped right into the topic of the man once again dominating the headlines today: Donald Trump. "What are your comments or what is your take on what he is doing?" Fallon asked. In his first on-camera comments about Trump's controversial comments on banning Muslims from entering the United States, Sanders very passionately argued that Donald Trump is trying to divide Americans of various backgrounds. "A few months ago we were supposed to hate Mexicans, and he thinks they are all criminals and rapists," mocked Sanders. "And now we are supposed to hate Muslims, and that kind of crap is not going to work in the United States of America." http://abcn.ws/21NwlKp

NOTED: SANDERS DEFENDS FOCUS ON ECONOMY. In an effort to continue to focus the national spotlight on income and racial inequality, Bernie Sanders visited West Baltimore Tuesday and toured the neighborhood of Freddie Gray, the young African-American man whose death while in police custody sparked riots in the city last spring. Sanders commented that the neighborhood, with dilapidated homes and boarded up windows, looked like "a third world country," and after the walk he stood alongside pastors for a news conference they hoped would focus on economic issues such as unemployment and education. ABC'S MARYALICE PARKS notes prior to the news conference, Sanders' campaign reminded the media of the purpose of the event and asked only for questions "on topic," in particular, not about ISIS. http://abcn.ws/1TVEaIF

WHO'S TWEETING?

@maryaliceparks: .@BernieSanders tells @maddow he empathized w/ frustrations of Trump fans- "You have a right to be angry, don't take it out on Muslims."

@realDonaldTrump: I told you @TIME Magazine would never pick me as person of the year despite being the big favorite They picked person who is ruining Germany

@amyewalter: When it comes to Trump, psycho-analysis not political analysis is what is needed https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/i-will-never-leave-this-race/2015/12/08/af1b1d46-9ad2-11e5-8917-653b65c809eb_story.html ...

@RonBrownstein: Trump has support across GOP, but non-col remains key 2 his lead. In @CNN IA Poll, @realDonaldTrump leads @SenTedCruz +18 non-col, +2 col

@tripgabriel: Rubio campaign calling this a 'must read' piece on his quiet 'sabotage' of ACA http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/12/10/us/politics/marco-rubio-obamacare-affordable-care-act.html?_r=0&referer= ...