Anti-Muslim campaign rhetoric directly boosted a 2016 presidential candidate’s poll numbers

Evidence

Islamophobic rhetoric by American politicians both reflected and validated the negative media coverage. In the 2016 presidential primary battles, for example, Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio resorted to targeting Islam and Muslims in seeking to mobilize broad-based support for their candidacy. Trump, the leading Republican candidate, advocated a freeze on all Muslim immigration, as well as the monitoring or even the forced closure of American mosques. The result? Trump soared in the polls. — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 40 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Anti-Muslim sentiment spikes during presidential elections, not after terrorist attacks; Anti-Muslim platform positions helped Trump rise in 2016 Republican primary polls — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes…, 40; The 2016 race weaponized nonspecific Muslim fear for electoral gain — Arsalan Iftikhar, Fear of a Muslim Planet_ Global…, 33 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Anti-Muslim platform positions helped Trump rise in 2016 Republican primary polls #corroborates (0.97) — Sahar F. Aziz, The Racial Muslim, 40