Reaction to Donald Trump’s call for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” was swift, strong and bipartisan. Hillary Clinton rushed out a tweet: “This is reprehensible, prejudiced and divisive. @realDonaldTrump, you don’t get it. This makes us less safe. -H".  Her husband followed suit. Trump 2016 rivals Jeb Bush and Lindsey Graham were quick to denounce his statement, as was House Speaker Paul Ryan, and state Republican Party chairs in key states in the nominating process like Iowa and South Carolina. Dick Cheney said Trump’s position “goes against everything we stand for and believe in.”

Trump defended his remarks, invoking FDR’s handling of the Japanese during WW II. This only provoked further condemnation from around the world, as leaders in France, Britain and Switzerland condemned his comments, as well as the leading religious body in Egypt. (The White House responded to Trump’s remarks by suggesting they disqualified him from holding the office of the presidency).  He also said he’d leave the GOP and mount an independent bid for president if he felt he were being treated “unfairly” by the party.

The mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida announced that he was banning Trump from the city “until we fully understand the dangerous threat posed by all Trumps.” And Philadelphia’s mayor announced Trump would not be welcome there either.

Grantees and other advocates also rushed to address Trump’s proposal. Media Matters argued that he based his thinking on misleading polling data linked to Frank Gaffney of the Center for Security Policy, a man once branded “one of America’s most notorious Islamophobes” by the Southern Poverty Law Center .

Among groups that work to combat anti-Muslim bias, a strategic split surfaced over how to talk about President Obama’s Sunday night Oval Office address to the nation. Representatives from Muslim Advocates took to the airwaves to praise the president for speaking out against broad-brush attacks on all Muslims, and for warning Americans of the dangers of compromising values and caving in to fear. But new grantee MPower felt the president assigned too much of the responsibility for rooting out terrorists to the American Muslim community. This may reflect a difference in the roles these organizations occupy; Muslim Advocates playing more of an inside game, while MPower takes more of an outside agitator approach.  

On the Hill, the House handily approved legislation tightening the visa waiver program, imposing greater restrictions on people coming into the U.S. without visas from an allied country. Ted Cruz introduced a new bill aimed at curbing resettlement of Syrian refugees that would allow governors to opt out of the administration’s program. And a Muslim congressman said he’d received a death threat.

Moveon.org and other grantees helped rally a sign-on letter among members of Congress, led by Colorado Democratic Rep. Jared Polis, to House Speaker Paul Ryan, urging the speaker not to use any year-end spending or budget bills as a vehicle for blocking refugees and screening people on the basis of their religion. MoveOn and others sent letters of thanks and urged signatories to stay the course as a House vote on the visa waiver program loomed.  

A group of national faith leaders including the Interfaith Alliance joined Sens. Leahy, Kaine and Durbin at a press conference calling on Congress to condemn intolerance and to follow a moral path in dealing with refugee resettlement issues.

Attorney General Lynch and Homeland Security Secretary Johnson sought to hammer home their continued vigilance in guarding the country against terror and hate.

 

The State Innovation Exchange touted a group of 250 state legislators from 38 states who condemned politicians for whipping up fear and urged governors to welcome refugee families into their communities.

Among other grantee and advocate activities:

--A group of grantees is launching a microsite and a full-page ad in the New York Times, making “a collective statement that challenges the rising tide of hateful rhetoric and violence that is targeting so many of our communities -- from women and the places where they are seeking health care to Black Lives Matter activists; from refugees and immigrants to Arab-Americans and Muslims of all walks of life; and people just going about their daily business.” The effort, knit together with the hashtag #WeAreBetterThanThis, is being organized by MoveOn.org, United We Dream, the Domestic Workers Alliance, Center for Community Change, Demos, the SEIU and Color of Change, among others.

--Grantee ReThink Media assembled a crisis listserv in responses to the Trump comments and other fallout from the San Berardino attacks, seeking to create a common hub for various groups working against anti-Muslim bias and hate speech.  They continued to circulate new talking points to deal with late-emerging facets of the crisis, and expanded the scope to include issues of surveillance and security, and plan to promote ongoing efforts such as a LaunchGood campaign “crowdfunding incredible Muslims worldwide.”

--The Center for American Progress helped mount a Twitter hashtag campaign, #NotJustTrump, to drive attention to the wider problem of Islamophobia, and push readers toward ThinkProgress writings on scope and solutions.

--Media Matters circulated clips of American Muslim leaders warning about the dangers of Islamophobia.