Hillary Clinton is courting voters in Utah, of all places. Though the state's gone red in every presidential election since 1964, Donald Trump's Muslim ban has proven absolutely toxic to the state's large Mormon population. In an op-ed in the Salt Lake City-based Deseret News, the Mormon church-owned newspaper, Clinton writes:
As Americans, we hold fast to the belief that everyone has the right to worship however he or she sees fit. I’ve been fighting to defend religious freedom for years. As secretary of state, I made it a cornerstone of our foreign policy to protect the rights of religious minorities around the world [...]
Trump’s Muslim ban would undo centuries of American tradition and values. To this day, I wonder if he even understands the implications of his proposal. This policy would literally undo what made America great in the first place.
But you don’t have to take it from me. Listen to Mitt Romney, who said Trump “fired before aiming” when he decided a blanket religious ban was a solution to the threat of terrorism.
Clinton goes on to name other Utah leaders, including GOP Gov. Gary Herbert, who have noted that Trump's approach to Muslims is reminiscent of the history of religious persecution Mormons have faced.
Deseret News editor Paul Edwards told BuzzFeed News the paper reached out to both the Trump and Clinton campaign, but never heard back from the Trump camp. Shocking.