Sonia Kruger Admits Her Views On Muslim Immigration Are "Extreme"

Sonia Kruger has backtracked – but only a little – from yesterday's controversial comments in which she said Australia should adopt a temporary ban on Muslim migration.

“I acknowledge my views yesterday may have been extreme," she said on Today Extra, alongside co-host David Campbell, who had previously shot down her comments.

(Campbell criticised an Andrew Bolt column, which inspired her call, by saying it “breeds hate”.)

However, she did not walk away from her proposal entirely, referencing the recent attack in Nice as inspiration for her comments.

"I saw the image of a baby covered in a plastic sheet with a doll lying beside her and it rocked me to the very core," Kruger said.

Sonia Kruger had more to say about Islam this morning, while David Campbell steadfastly maintained this face. pic.twitter.com/AyS3bT47tw

— Rob Stott (@Rob_Stott) July 19, 2016

"I imagine what that must have been like for the people of Nice, for the friends of and families of the lost, and the thought that it could happen here terrifies me.”

Kruger was roundly criticised on social media for her initial comments, which were only inflamed by the following Twitter post (which inspired its own sarcastic hashtag: #asamother).

pic.twitter.com/fDit1iRvuj

— Sonia Kruger (@SoniaKruger) July 18, 2016

“The reaction overnight - in the papers, online and via social media - demonstrates there are a myriad of opinions in Australia of which I fully appreciate,” she said this morning.

#asamother does @SoniaKruger care about how many Muslim kids are going to be bullied, abused and attacked at school because of her today?

— Aamer Rahman (@aamer_rahman) July 18, 2016

“It is a hugely complex and sensitive issue, it’s an issue with no simple answer – and it’s an issue that cannot be fully discussed in a short televised segment.

“It is a privilege to live in a country such as Australia which embraces a multicultural society, but there is no simple answer here, and if we are to find a solution to the situation, at the very least we need to be able to discuss it.”

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was even called upon to comment on Kruger during his announcement of the Government’s new ministry.

"I'm not going to run a commentary on the commentators,” he said.

“But as you know Australia has a non-discriminatory immigration program and a non-discriminatory humanitarian program, and has done for many, many years and that is not going to change.”

Photo: Nine Network.