(HuffPost) The president of the United States stood tall and proud at his North Carolina rally as the crowd chanted loudly for him to deport Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), one of the first two Muslim women in Congress. Just days before, Donald Trump had doubled down on his racist attacks against Omar and three of her freshman colleagues.
Back in Washington, Muslim organizers and policymakers were busy preparing for a historic moment: what they have called the first national gathering of Muslim Americans in politics.
But there was a problem.
With only a few days left until the July 23-24 conference, not a single Democratic presidential candidate was set to attend in person. HuffPost contacted every candidate for comment. Some replied to note schedule conflicts; others didn’t respond at all.
