Some Republicans Can't Even Bear To Acknowledge Donald Trump's Existence

Things have gotten so awkward for some Republicans on Capitol Hill that they'd prefer to plead ignorance about their presumptive presidential nominee, real estate mogul Donald Trump , rather than answer questions about his no-holds-barred attacks on Muslims .

Though many Republicans distanced themselves Tuesday from Trump's remarks, some lawmakers preferred instead to beg off inquiries from reporters , claiming they had simply not heard Trump's speech the day prior in which he doubled down on his proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States.

Asked about Trump's suggestion that President Barack Obama is sympathetic to Islamic terrorism, and that the president may have been somehow connected to Sunday's shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also decided to take a pass.

"I'm not going to be commenting on the presidential candidate today," McConnell told reporters, notably avoiding calling Trump by name.

Across the Capitol, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) distanced himself from Trump's rhetoric and proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States, telling reporters he did not think the ban was "in our country's interests." But he, too, declined to comment on Trump's dark insinuation against the president.

Ryan declines to answer question on Trump's assertion that Obama is complicit w Islamic terrorism. Says he won't comment on day to day Trump

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Ryan declines to answer question on Trump's assertion that Obama is complicit w Islamic terrorism. Says he won't comment on day to day Trump
Luke Russert (@LukeRussert) June 14, 2016

Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) took a similar tack.

Aw, man. Im not going to speak to that, she told The Huffington Post when asked about Trump's proposals. I wont give you an answer on that today.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), meanwhile, refused to even refer to Trump as the party's presumptive nominee, even though the Manhattan businessman has secured enough delegates to clinch the nomination next month at the GOP convention.

\"We don't have a nominee\" Sen Alexander says in response to question on Trump. Informed he's the presumptive nominee: \"That's what you say.\"

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"We don't have a nominee" Sen Alexander says in response to question on Trump. Informed he's the presumptive nominee: "That's what you say."
Erica Werner (@ericawerner) June 14, 2016

Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) headed down a flight of stairs and kept walking out of the Capitol as HuffPost tried to get his response to Trump's comments about Muslims.

I dont make any comments on the presidential candidates, Enzi said . If youve got an issue you want to talk to me about that Im working on, Im happy to talk about it.

Asked if that means he has no thoughts on Trump being his partys presidential nominee, the Wyoming senator paused, and before walking off, said only, Not that Im sharing.

The Republican National Committee, which has fully embraced Trump, issued a statement in response to a searing rebuttal from Obama on Tuesday. His voice steadily rising, the president castigated Republican officials who did not stand up against Trumps toxic proposals and claimed his anti-Muslim bashing would threaten America at home and abroad.

The RNC's statement, however, included no reference to Trump or his proposed ban -- almost as if it were issued in an alternate universe in which he did not exist.

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RNC response to Obama remarks include no mention of, or defense of, Trump pic.twitter.com/d0lHMszOqf

Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) June 14, 2016","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Nick Corasaniti","author_url":"https://twitter.com/NYTnickc","cache_age":86400,"description":"RNC response to Obama remarks include no mention of, or defense of, Trump pic.twitter.com/d0lHMszOqf— Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) June 14, 2016\n","provider_name":"Twitter","title":"Nick Corasaniti on 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RNC response to Obama remarks include no mention of, or defense of, Trump pic.twitter.com/d0lHMszOqf
Nick Corasaniti (@NYTnickc) June 14, 2016

Jennifer Bendery contributed reporting.

Editors note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar , rampant xenophobe , racist , misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims 1.6 billion members of an entire religion from entering the U.S.