MSNBC Guest: ‘For Some, the Word Trump Is Becoming a Modern-Day Swastika’

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https://www.mediaite.com/tv/dean-obeidallah-for-some-the-word-trump-is-becoming-a-modern-day-swastika/

 

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Dean Obeidallah, host of a SiriusXM talk show and Daily Beastcolumnist, appeared on MSNBC Monday, telling host Ali Velshi that to some “the word Trump is a modern-day swastika.”

 

(Full disclosure: Obeidallah is a Mediaite contributor.)

Velshi asked Obeidallah about the recent attack on a mosque in Minnesota: during prayers at the Bloomington mosque on Saturday, someone threw an improvised explosive device through a window of the Islamic center, in what the state’s governor declared an “act of terrorism.” The bomb detonated, but no one was injured.

Obeidallah wrote a column in The Daily Beast following the attack, decrying the media for not granting more coverage to the display of anti-Muslim violence.

On MSNBC, Obeidallah argued that the attack on the mosque is indicative of a broader trend of President Donald Trumpemboldening his more bigoted supporters:

“We can’t look at this in a vacuum,” Obeidallah said. “You know, you live in a country now where if you’re a parent of Muslims, you fear your kids going out because they might be attacked at the mosque. This is a place of worship. There should be a zero tolerance policy about any of this.”

In response to Trump’s silence on the mosque attack, Obeidallah went on to say that he does not expect the president to stand up for the Muslim community, telling Velshi Trump campaigned on a demonization of the faith.

“Since January, we’ve had five mosques burned down in America by arson, that’s according to the police,” Obeidallah said. “We’ve had swastikas written on mosques. We’ve had the word ‘Trump’ painted on mosques in New Jersey, Iowa, and New York. For some, the word ‘Trump’ is becoming a modern-day swastika.”

“I’m not saying Donald Trump wants that, but for some of his followers, that’s the world we live in,” he said.

Obeidallah concluded that while he doesn’t think Trump intends to incite violence against Muslims — “Donald Trump is not directing them, I don’t think he truly wants violence against Muslims,” he said — his rhetoric has the effect of emboldening bigots.