Candidates fundraise off of Donald Trump's Muslim ban plan
Presidential candidates of both parties began fundraising off of Donald Trump's new plan to block all Muslims from entering the U.S. hours after he sent the press release announcing the ban.
Hillary Clinton's campaign blasted out an email from Vice Chair Huma Abedin, her longtime adviser and a Muslim, asking supporters to add their names to the campaign's database.
"I'm a proud Muslim -- but you don't have to share my faith to share my disgust," Abedin wrote. "Unfortunately, Trump is leaning into the kind of fear of progress that very well could help him win the nomination. We have to be ready to stop him."
"Add your name to stand with Hillary and build a stronger, fairer, more inclusive country together," the email said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders', I-Vermont, campaign sent an email to supporters, asking them to "Donate $3 to our campaign to condemn Donald Trump's hate and racism."
"It's fun for the political media to treat Donald Trump like he's the lead character in a soap opera or the star player on a baseball team," the email said. "But the truth is his language is dangerous, especially as it empowers his supporters to act out against Muslims, Latinos, and African-Americans."
The appeals aren't limited to the Democrats in the race, however. Although Ohio GOP Gov. John Kasich's email didn't mention the Trump plan, his campaign sent out a fundraising letter soon after the plan was announced. The email asked supporters to "chip in $25, $50 or more" to "STOP TRUMP!"
"It's time for our party to wake up and realize that if we nominate Trump, Hillary Clinton will definitely be the next President," the email warned.
Trump, the GOP presidential frontrunner, initially called in a statement on Monday for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." He defended the new policy at a rally in South Carolina Monday evening and on a series of interviews on the morning news shows on Tuesday.
A number of 2016 presidential candidates immediately denounced the plan.
