MSNBC hosts cut off Donald Trump

NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- MSNBC hosts interviewing presidential candidate Donald Trump were forced to cut to a commercial in the middle of a phone interview Tuesday.

Trump's camp is still reeling from backlash against his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States. Trump told MSNBC Morning Joe hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough on Tuesday that his campaign has survived worse.

Mika Brzezinski asked Trump: "Do you believe that we need members of the Muslim-American community, the Muslim community around the world, to help fight the war or terror, and perhaps that this is incredibly counter-productive?"

Trump responded saying it's "something that has to be done" and called it a temporary measure. He then went on to claim that there are "radicalized" neighborhoods in Paris and London where local law enforcement are "too petrified" to go.

A similar claim was made on Fox News earlier this year by Steve Emerson, who describes himself as "one of the leading authorities on Islamic extremist networks, financing and operations. " In the wake of the attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Emerson claimed: "Parts of London, there are actually Muslim religious police that actually beat and actually wound seriously anyone who doesn't dress according to Muslim religious Muslim attire." Emerson and other Fox News contributors claimed "no-go zones" exist in European countries.

British Prime Minister David Cameron told The Telegraph in January that Emerson was "clearly a complete idiot." That didn't stop Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal from taking up the claim of "no-go zones," even after Fox News aired an apology for the claim, admitting there was no evidence to support it. Jindal ceded his presidential bid last month.

Trump reignited the idea, shouting over Scarborough and Brzezinski as they tried to interject with questions.

"You gotta let us ask questions, you can't just talk," Scarborough said before threatening to go to commercial break.

"Go to break then, Joe," Trump responded. "All I'm doing is giving you the facts."

Morning Joe cut to a brief commercial break, and then resumed the interview with Trump.

A producer for Yahoo Studios told The New York Times Tuesday morning that Trump abruptly canceled a scheduled interview with Katie Couric. Trump's campaign has not commented on the reason for canceling the interview, which had been in the works since the summer.