To their credit, Republican Mormons are balking at the prospect of voting for the most profane presidential candidate in modern history. Utah, a state that Mitt Romney won handily in 2012, is now a tight race thanks to the insurgent campaign of Evan McMullin. So naturally Dobbs, one of Trump’s biggest supporters in the media, decides to pour gasoline on the fire by tweeting:
Look Deeper, He's nothing but a Globalist, Romney and Mormon Mafia Tool #MAGA #AmericaFirst #TrumpPence16 #TrumpTrain #Dobbs https://t.co/WfjYzck2jt
— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) October 23, 2016
“Globalist” is a very popular conspiracy term among Trumpkins, and often has an anti-Semitic connotation. But what’s interesting is the phrase “Mormon mafia.” Mormons aware of their history will know that they were long subject to xenophobic conspiracy theories of the sort used also against Jews and Catholics. According to these theories, Mormons were an alien element trying to subvert the American republic.
Dobbs is a bellwether on the populist right, with his own anti-Latino rants being a forerunner of Trump’s campaign. It could well be that if Trump loses Utah, his movement will turn against Mormons just as they’ve already turned against people of color, Muslim-Americans, and many other groups.