A Muslim veteran asks presidential front-runner Hilary Clinton about Islamophobia

DES MOINES, IOWA ― Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton slammed Donald Trump at Monday’s Democratic town hall meeting in Iowa, calling the Islamophobic rhetoric many Republican candidates spew “distressing” and “shameful.”

Asked by a Muslim American Air Force veteran if the United States is the best place to raise her children, given the reality of increased Islamophobia in the country, Clinton took the chance to denounce her Republican rivals’ insults. She also pledged to protect Muslims if she is elected.

“One of the most distressing aspects of this campaign has been the language of Republican candidates— particularly their front-runner— that insults, demeans, denigrates different people,” Clinton said. “He has cast a wide net — he started with Mexicans. Now it’s Muslims.”

“But I found it particularly harmful the way that he has talked about Muslims — American Muslims, and Muslims around the world,” she continued. “And I have called him out continuously on that. It’s not only shameful and contrary to our values to say that people of a certain religion should not come to this country, or to claim that there are no real people of the Muslim faith that share our values, and to have the kind of dismissive and insulting approach. It’s not only shameful and offensive, which it is. I think it’s dangerous.”

Trump, who has taken heat from both parties, has proposed banning Muslims in the country and reiterated his stance in his first and— to date— only campaign ad.