Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.), left, and Rep. Andy Ogles, (R-Tenn.)Mother Jones illustration; Michael Brochstein/ZUMA; Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/ZUMA
If you have the good fortune of not spending time on Elon Musk’s X, it is hard to grasp just how blatant the anti-Muslim hate coming from GOP lawmakers—and tolerated by their leaders—has become. Take Rep. Andy Ogles, the Tennessee Republican who declared last month that “Muslims don’t belong in American society.” Since that post, Ogles has shared anti-Muslim content on X more than 100 times.
Ogles is not alone, either. Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) wrote on X in February that, “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.” He added this month: “We need more Islamophobia, not less.” Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), meanwhile, recently shared photos of the 9/11 terror attacks alongside New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani with the caption, “The enemy is inside the gates.”
In response, Republicans leaders have done little. House Speaker Mike Johnson said last month that he talked to his members about “our tone and our message,” while noting that he would use different language. At the same time, he’s tried to explain away the anti-Muslim rhetoric by saying that there is a “lot of popular sentiment that the demand to impose Sharia law in America is a serious problem.” Johnson took a stronger line later in March when he said in relation to Fine that “we should never disclaim whole groups of people.” He added, “Obviously, we love Muslim people.” But he has imposed no real consequences thus far. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said that he does not like claims that Muslims do not belong in the United States or that they are the “enemy.” Despite that, he has not criticized Tuberville directly.
On its own, it is not surprising to see right-wing members of Congress targeting Muslims. Donald Trump built his political career on it. During his first presidential campaign, a Muslim ban was one of his signature campaign proposals. When an attendee at one of his rallies claimed President Obama was a Muslim born outside the United States in 2015, Trump—an early proponent of the birther conspiracy theory—did nothing to correct him. What stands out now is how aggressive and common the bigotry has become.
At last week’s Conservative Political Action Conference, Bo French, a Republican running to be Texas Railroad Commissioner declared, “The problem is, we call it Sharia [law], but the problem is actually Islam.” In Congress, a recently launched “Sharia-Free America Caucus” now has 60 members, including Fine and Ogles. Another member, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas), who is the son-in-law of right-wing commentator Dinesh D’Souza, has written that “Islam is incompatible with our culture and our governing system.” Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) called last month for banning “Islamic immigration,” as well denaturalizing and deporting people who are already US citizens.
The legislators attacking Muslims in the most aggressive terms today have also been loyal supporters of Israel in a party that is increasingly divided over support for the nation, particularly since the start of the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran. Their Islamophobia directs animus at a more familiar Republican scapegoat at a time when people on the far-right are flirting with, or openly embracing, antisemitism. It also affords lawmakers like Ogles a chance to generate outrage without major risk to reelection. In the modern GOP, attacking Israel still carries serious political risk; going after Muslims does not.
When I profiled Ogles last year, he was not well known for his views on Muslims, thousands of whom are his own constituents. Instead, he was most notable for a George Santos-like proclivity for apparent fabrication, as well as a recent FBI investigation into what he later admitted was a non-existent personal loan he reported to his 2022 campaign. (Prosecutors looking into his campaign finance practices were withdrawn from the case soon after Ogles proposed amending the Constitution so that Trump could run for a third term.)
Ogles’ attacks on Muslims started attracting significant attention last June when he called for Mamdani, whom he dubbed “little muhammad,” to be stripped of US citizenship and deported. Perhaps inspired by the outrage that generated, Ogles has posted about Muslims, who make up only about 1 percent of American adults, more than any other topic in recent weeks. Last month, he shared the same grotesque anti-Muslim meme at least 10 times in a single day.
Despite frequently styling himself as a defender of Western civilization, Ogles and the people in charge of his social media appear to know remarkably little about basic American history. One video posted to Ogles’ X account in March shows him railing against Islam before lecturing about how “those in Jamestown were Puritans.” (As elementary school US history curricula make clear, Jamestown was not settled by Puritans.)
Ogles does not post much about Israel, despite a strong record in support of it. Fine, who lists his pronouns on X as “Hebrew/Hammer,” distinguishes himself by both attacking Muslims and defending Israeli aggression in disturbing terms. As Jewish Currents has noted, Fine was asked on social media in 2021 about how he slept at night in a post that included what appeared to be an image of a dead Palestinian child. “Quite well, actually!” he replied, “Thanks for the pic!” More recently, he wrote during the war in Gaza, “Tell your fellow Muslim terrorists to release the hostages and surrender. Until then, #StarveAway.”
Recent survey data shows that Republicans, unlike Democrats and independents, remain far more sympathetic to Israelis than Palestinians. They are also much more likely to have negative opinions of Muslims. But surveys also point to major generational gaps. A poll conducted in November by YouGov for the Institute for Middle East Understanding, an advocacy group supportive of Palestinians, found that Republican seniors sympathized more with Israelis than Palestinians by a 67-point margin. (Only 2 percent favored Palestinians.) Among Republicans under 30, the gap in favor of Israelis dropped to 19 points.
That was before the war in Iran, which has prompted unprecedented dissent from right-wing media figures with large audiences of young Republicans. Tucker Carlson has been one of the loudest voices in that camp. He has also made a point of pushing back against attacks on Muslims. (The former Fox News host has blamed Republicans’ concern with “radical Islam” on “the Israeli government and its many defenders and informal employees in the United States.”)
Carlson frequently rejects claims by Fine and others that he is an antisemite. But those further to the right like Nick Fuentes, who has a large following of up-and-coming Republicans, make no apologies for open antisemitism. Candace Owens, the right-wing conspiracy theorist who has baselessly suggested that Israel was involved in the assassination of Charlie Kirk, is now one of the most popular podcasters in the United States.
In response, the Republican Party leaders tolerating the rhetoric of Fine and Ogles are trying to keep antisemitism at bay while allowing hatred of Muslims to go unchecked. A new generation of Republicans shaped by Fuentes and his ilk may soon decide they don’t have to choose.
