"While President Donald Trump held a lovefest for New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office last week, the right flank of his party was promptly freaking out. "Wild to allow a jihadist communist to stand behind the president's desk in the Oval Office," Laura Loomer, conspiracy theorist and unofficial Trump adviser, lamented on X. She was not the only one lacing her criticism of Trump's meeting with Mamdani with outright bigotry that targeted the mayor-elect's Muslim faith."
"Islamophobia is an age-old theme in American politics, peaking some 20 years ago in the aftermath of 9/11 and ebbing and flowing in the years since. It was largely viewed as fringe and extreme, but those in positions of power were reasonably quick to condemn it. Even as he was launching a global war on terror that targeted Muslim countries and their civilian populations, Republican President George W. Bush still felt it important to proclaim "Islam is peace" in the days following the 9/11 attacks."
President Trump met with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office, provoking immediate backlash from the right that included overtly bigoted attacks. Prominent figures and GOP strategists sought to weaponize Mamdani's Muslim background as a political vulnerability. Islamophobia has surged since his primary upset in June, with analysts warning of further escalation as his term begins amid contentious midterm politics. Historically, anti-Muslim sentiment peaked after 9/11 and was once publicly condemned by leaders such as George W. Bush, but current hyperpolarization has normalized racist and bigoted rhetoric and amplified online harassment targeting Muslim public figures.
Read at Slate Magazine
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