Gov. Bill Haslam speaks to reporters in Nashville on Wednesday about a meeting he had helped organize the day before with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in New York. Haslam said he still wasn't ready to endorse Trump.NASHVILLE - Despite joining with fellow GOP governors this week for a face-to-face chat with Donald Trump, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam says he still isn't ready to endorse the presumptive Republican presidential nominee and also "strongly" disagrees with Trump's comments about Muslims.
Haslam told reporters Wednesday that in Tuesday's meeting in New York between Trump and six governors, including himself, discussions largely centered on issues that state leaders are focused on such as education, heath care and the economy.
Asked whether he now plans to endorse the billionaire businessman and former reality TV star, Haslam appeared hesitant and said, "To be honest, we never even talked about it." Haslam backed U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio in the GOP primary.
"He asked me what I think will happen in Tennessee, and I said, 'I think you'll win,'" Haslam added. "And then the conversation moved on and we ended up talking about a lot of other things."
Meanwhile, the governor added his voice to concerns raised earlier this week by Tennessee Republican U.S. Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander in the wake of Trump's comments about Muslims following the massacre of 49 people in a gay Orlando nightclub this week.
Republicans and Democrats have criticized Trump for renewing his call to temporarily ban Muslims from other countries from entering the U.S., as well as would-be refugees and other Muslims from nations with the presence of terrorist groups.
Trump also has suggested that moderate Muslims and possibly Democratic President Barack Obama himself might sympathize with radical elements.
"Do I disagree that we need to ban all Muslims from entering the country? Yes, I disagree with it strongly," Haslam said.
Corker, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and recently met with Trump, told reporters earlier this week in Washington "I continue to be discouraged by the direction of the campaign and comments that are made."
Moreover, Corker said, Trump's post-massacre speech wasn't "the type of speech that one would give that wants to lead this country through difficult times."
Alexander, meanwhile, was quoted by The Associated Press as appearing to suggest Trump might not become the GOP's nominee.
"We do not have a nominee until after the convention," Alexander said. When reminded that Trump is the party's presumptive nominee, Alexander said, "That's what you say."
Speaking with reporters about Trump on Wednesday, Haslam said, "It's no secret that there have been things that I haven't agreed with. It's also no secret that he's not who my first pick was."
Still, the governor said, "I appreciate him sitting down and talking with us. It's a long road between here and November. There'll be lots of twists and turns."
Regarding the Orlando massacre, Haslam said it was tragic, noting that "as a country, we need to sit down and talk about why are we seeing that so much more than any other nation at this point in time.
"For those folks who go to the easy answer, 'Well, it's because of the immigration laws,' well, these weren't folks that were part of the refugee process. These are people who were born here and ... unfortunately, they've been radicalized by ISIS and the social media. That's a whole different problem than what we've talked about."
Contact staff writer Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow on Twitter @AndySher1.