Though he ratcheted up the rhetoric more than anyone, Trump wasn’t the Republican field’s first anti-immigrant candidate to advocate anti-immigrant ideas. But the egregious anti-Muslim and anti-refugee policies that have saturated the GOP primary? Those are all his…
The disgraceful, fascist-tinged policies and rhetoric Trump’s influenced the field to adopt with respect to Muslims — both refugees and American citizens. No matter how offensive and discriminatory Trump gets, the rest of the field eagerly matches his every move — increasingly timid in their refusal to offer substantive criticism. Not one GOP candidate used the most recent debate to meaningfully criticize Trump’s proposed Muslim ban — very clearly living in fear of the 60% of GOP voters who support his proposal.
But there’s a more obvious reason they’ve refused to go beyond saying they “disagree” with his plan: Their own discriminatory proposals are equally rooted in xenophobic fear-mongering — this is the Party of Trump. Their Islamaphobia and calls for a “carpet-bombing” and a mass ground invasion of the Middle East do nothing to bolster U.S. national security — on the other hand, it plays right into ISIS’s hands and aids their recruitment efforts.
Despite how out of control things have gotten, each and every GOP candidate remains as pledged as ever to support a Trump nomination. This is the year Trump took over:
- When asked about closing mosques, Marco Rubio said we should close down “any place where radicals are being inspired.”
- Ted Cruz proposed legislation that would ban Syrian Muslims from entering the country and voted against rejecting Donald Trump’s ban on Muslims.
- Jeb Bush has said we should only allow Syrian Christians into the United States, proposing a religious test refugees would have to pass before entering.
- Ben Carson has said he doesn’t think a Muslim should be president and compared Syrian refugees to “rabid dogs.”
- Chris Christie said, “I don’t believe Donald Trump is hateful… I don’t believe he’s a bigot,” after he called for a ban on Muslims.
- When asked about Trump’s Muslim ban, Rand Paul said, “I think it’s a mistake to base immigration or moratoriums based on religion. But you know, I’ve called for something similar… And I have actually introduced legislation and got a vote on it.”
- Carly Fiorina participated in a campaign event held by the Center for Security Policy, the same organization that Trump sourced in his research for the Muslim ban.
- John Kasich called for a government agency that would push Judeo-Christian propaganda in the Middle East.
Published: Dec 28, 2015