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SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Gary Herbert said Wednesday "both sides are guilty" in the controversy over President Donald Trump's comments, condemned by the U.S. House as racist, about a group of progressive minority congresswomen.
"This is not just a one-sided issue. Both sides ought to dial it back, not just one notch, but probably a few notches and respect differences of opinion," the governor told the Deseret News.
"We have people look at what he said and say, 'Well, that's not racist. He didn't say anything racist.' Others think, 'Oh my gosh, he's ready to burn them at the stake.' So a lot of it's point of view," Herbert said.
The governor, along with Republicans in Utah around the country, have had little to say about the president tweeting Sunday the four congresswomen should "go back" to their "crime-infested" homelands instead of being critical of the United States.
Trump continued his attacks on Twitter and in public statements, declaring that the congresswomen hated America and insisting that nothing he said was racist because he doesn't "have a racist bone in my body."
On Tuesday, Rep. Ben McAdams, the sole Democratic member of Utah's congressional delegation, was the only vote from the state in favor of a U.S. House resolution condemning Trump's statements, a rare rebuke of a sitting president.
Utah's three other U.S. House members, Republican Reps. Rob Bishop, Chris Stewart and John Curtis, issued a joint statement after voting against the resolution, warning the "inflammatory rhetoric needs to stop" from both Trump and House Democrats.
The governor said there's been "some censorship of one of the ladies by her own body, although they took her name out of it, (for what) seemed to be kind of anti-Semitic, what she said," he said, a reference to Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota.
In March, the Democratic-controlled House passed a resolution against both anti-Semitism and prejudice against Muslims amid concerns raised about Omar saying Americans' support for Israel is all about money.
"I think we should have a call for civility and both sides are guilty," Herbert said after being asked whether Trump's statements merited the call for civility the governor issued last week following an out-of-control protest over the inland port.
"What I said stands and I think that goes for everybody," he said.
Besides Omar, a Somali refugee who became a U.S. citizen as a teenager, the other congresswomen Trump has spoken about are Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.
Chris Karpowitz, co-director of BYU's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, said Utah Republicans should have more room politically to push back against Trump than their counterparts nationally.
"The president called out racial and ethnic minority members of Congress using language that is offensive," he said. "It seems contrary to both good civil discourse on a political level but also contrary to moral principles about how to treat each other."
Karpowitz said that's especially true in Utah, a state Trump won in 2016 with just over 45 percent of the vote, his lowest margin of victory nationwide, because of "the basic values by which many Utahns profess to live their lives."
He cited the history of pioneers in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who settled Utah — coming west "because basically people told them to leave" — as making the silence among the state's Republicans particularly noticeable.
Only McAdams and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, spoke out against Trump. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has not commented at all on the president's statements against the congresswomen and has no plans to, according to his spokesman, Conn Carroll.
"It's not the case that this has to be a partisan battle," Karpowitz said. "What's striking is the extent to which Republicans in Utah missed a chance to make a moral point."
The point that could have been made, he said, is "about the meaning of the nation and about the inclusion of different groups and about the notion that we can all be Americans even if we disagree on policy grounds."
But the political science professor said it's not clear there will be political repercussions for Utah Republicans.
"In past years at least, people on both sides would have found language like the president used to be offensive and well outside the bounds of acceptable public discourse," Karpowitz said. "Maybe we've just become desensitized."
The governor said he believes "it'll all shake out" politically.
"I'm more interested in what happens, what's being done," he said. "That's the more important thing than even what's being said, but we ought to do it with civility and respect for differences of opinion."
Herbert said he's hoping to meet next week with Vice President Mike Pence, a former Indiana governor and a friend. He said they may end up discussing Trump's statements.
"He's one that comes from a background that lines up more, I think, with Utah. So I'm anxious to see him," Herbert said. "And if I get a chance to see him, it may come up."
Utah GOP Chairman Derek Brown said the state's Republicans should be showing the rest of the country how to handle political differences.
"The best response is an example we can set as a party," he said. "We here in Utah don't have control over the situation. … It's been pretty clear to everyone that the president will say what the president says."
Utah Republicans, Brown said, can control "our tone, the way that we interact with others. It's the message that we send out about what we stand for here in Utah. That message is one of respect for everyone."
