On the Road in Trump's America by Daniel Allott

Author:Daniel Allott
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Republic Book Publishers
Published: 2020-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

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SALT LAKE COUNTY, UTAH

WHEN PRESIDENT TRUMP issued an executive order shortly after his inauguration halting travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries, it prompted howls of indignation from liberal civil rights groups.1 But some of the loudest voices of protest came from members of one of America’s most conservative organizations—the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). Former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, and other prominent Mormons condemned the order.2 The LDS church issued a statement implicitly denouncing the administration’s move.3

Many rank-and-file Mormons also opposed the ban, including Sharlee Mullins Glenn, a children’s book author living outside Salt Lake City. She felt that the ban heartlessly singled out Muslims for dis-favored treatment. After discovering that many other Mormon women were similarly appalled by the ban, Mullins Glenn launched a Facebook group called Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG).

The page began as a place for Mormon women “to vent frustrations and talk about ideas for saving the country,” Mullins Glenn told me. Within two weeks the group had more than 4,000 members. Over the next year, MWEG became part of what could be called the Mormon resistance movement. But unlike the progressive resistance movement that formed in the wake of Trump’s election, the women of MWEG weren’t marching in pussy hats or calling for Trump’s impeachment (at least not yet). In fact, the group’s leaders insisted they didn’t oppose President Trump at all. Rather, they said they were fighting the dishonesty and callousness they believe define his presidency and the descent into political tribalism they fear will become its legacy.

I found the women of MWEG to be a fascinating case study, highlighting two of the most important questions of the Trump era. First, how would female voters, and particularly well-educated suburban white women, respond to Trump’s presidency? Donald Trump won white women voters in 2016, but some polling suggests they might be the voters most likely to abandon the president. Second, in today’s hyper-polarized environment, is there any room at all for a group of women who aspire to stand as a bulwark against political tribalism?

I first met several MWEG members at Mullins Glenn’s home in Pleasant Grove, about an hour’s drive south of Salt Lake City, two days after Christmas in 2017. The women explained that Mormons have a history of being victims of government-sanctioned discrimination.4 As a consequence, they tend to support accommodating immigration policies. In 2011 majority-Mormon Utah became the first state to establish its own guest worker program.5 Utah is one of just a handful of states that allow illegal immigrants to drive.6

“The travel ban, the refugee, and the immigration issues hit close to home for us,” Mullins Glenn said. “We were once refugees, and so we feel very strongly about caring for people who are without a home and making sure families stay together.”

“I feel strongly, and our church teaches, that we look after people,” said Dalene Rowley, a lifelong Republican-turned-independent who worked on immigration policy for MWEG. “And

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