Morris: A national bigot lobs a spitwad at the Minneapolis mayoral race

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Start with this simple proposition:

If your first response to a Muslim-American candidate for public office is to question their loyalty to America, the problem isn’t them — it’s you. Bearing that in mind, the fairly quiet mayoral race underway in Minneapolis received a rancid but telling dose of national attention this week when noted MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk launched an Islamophobic tirade against Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh, who currently serves in the Minnesota Senate.

In a social media attack, Kirk, cofounder and executive director of Turning Point USA, accused Fateh — a Somali American and the first Muslim to serve in the state Senate — of participating in an “Islamic takeover” of the U.S. government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, campaigning for a third term in office, was quick to condemn Kirk’s comments. Frey, who is Jewish, called Fateh “a proud American who is running because, like me, he loves Minneapolis.”

“I’m proud that Minneapolis is a place where he can run for mayor against me on his own merits — and that this kind of bigotry is widely rejected across our great city,” Frey wrote on social media.

Other mayoral candidates also quickly chimed in to register their contempt for the dangerous hatred on display. That is encouraging. Coming in the wake of the political violence that recently unfolded in Minnesota, the show of solidarity wasn’t lost on Fateh or others.

“I’m grateful for the outpouring of support I’ve received from Minneapolis residents & communities across the country. Thank you to my fellow candidates, [Jazz] Hampton, [DeWayne] Davis & Mayor Frey, for your kindness and firm stance that hate has no place in Minneapolis or this election,” Fateh posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

In a hostile political climate that has quickly moved beyond being shaped by outrage-oriented social algorithms and partisan paranoia to lethal violence, quick and forceful repudiation of hatred matters. It’s significant and must be noted when fierce and partisan opponents can agree on what’s out of bounds.

Kirk is an unabashed and masterful hate incubator. He garnered national attention last month when he made similar remarks about New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who also is a Muslim and who, like Fateh, identifies as a democratic socialist. Mamdani recently defeated former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in a stunning Democratic Party primary upset.

Let’s be clear on what focuses the sort of attack advanced by the likes of Kirk. It’s rooted in identity and fearmongering. It’s about making Muslim candidates appear foreign, suspect and dangerous simply because of their faith. It’s the same playbook that’s been used against countless others who dared to bring both faith and public service into the same American story. Kirk’s message is simple: If you’re Muslim, you’re not to be trusted with power.

This is not a new tactic. But it is an increasingly dangerous one. It’s corrosive to democracy. It runs directly counter to the vision of Thomas Jefferson — the same founding father whose writings laid the foundation for religious freedom in America. Jefferson described the First Amendment as “building a wall of separation between Church and State.”

Article VI of the U.S. Constitution states unequivocally: “No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” That construct is not a dusty relic. It’s law. And Kirk’s attempt to weaponize religion against Fateh is in open defiance of it.

Condemnation isn’t enough. We have to name this for what it is: not just bigotry, but a deliberate assault on pluralism. Kirk and his ilk fear the image of an American democracy where Muslims, Jews, Christians, atheists and everyone else have equal claim to the ballot and to power.

We should be clear which side history — and the Constitution — is on.

Right is right. Wrong is wrong. Kirk doesn’t care to know the difference.