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SALT LAKE CITY — Donald Trump Jr. is set to arrive in Utah to campaign for his father Wednesday amid controversy over having compared Syrian refugees to a bowl of candy containing pieces that "would kill you."
It's an image not likely to resonate with the state's usually reliably Republican voters who have already expressed unease with GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump's past statements on immigration, including a ban on Muslims entering the country.
"I think the messaging of the Trump campaign has been fairly tone-deaf when it comes to Utah," said Chris Karpowitz, co-director of BYU's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy.
"This is the place where care for refugees has been an important issue for many and has been emphasized by the LDS Church," Karpowitz said. "That's an important thing to many voters."
Trump Jr., one of his father's top advisers, tweeted a picture of a bowl of Skittles candies with the message that if someone was told, "Just three would kill you. Would you take a handful? That's our Syrian refugee problem."
He posted above the picture that the "image says it all. Let's end the politically correct agenda that doesn't put America first. #trump2016." The tweet sparked strong responses, but Trump supporters stood by the message.
"Threats to our security and safety are real. It's not about someone's faith. It's not about someone in need and ignoring them. But it is about security," Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said.
Hughes, who backed Trump before his third-place finish in Utah's GOP presidential preference caucus vote in March, said he saw nothing wrong with the statement about the dangers associated with a civil war-torn nation.
Decisions made about accepting Syrian refugees "have impact on the safety and security of Americans," the speaker said. "Don't ignore that, and don't blow that off. That's a serious issue. I think that was his point."
Hughes is among the elected Utah leaders hosting a fundraiser with Trump Jr. on Wednesday afternoon that costs a minimum of $2,700 to attend, or as much as $100,000 per couple to serve as chairmen.
Not on the list of hosts are Sen. Mike Lee and Rep. Mia Love, the only members of Utah's all-GOP congressional delegation who have not backed Trump, or Gov. Gary Herbert, who has said he will vote for the GOP ticket but won't endorse in the race.
Utahns for Trump's Don Peay said Trump Jr. will spend a few days visiting Western states, including Idaho and Colorado. Peay said the hope is Trump's lead in polls in Utah will spill over into neighboring swing states.
Peay told KSL Newsradio's Doug Wright that he believes Trump Jr. made a good point about national security.
"We have got to wake up and become realists of what's really going on, and address these issues — or just assume that mass murder and stabbings is part of what we live with," he said, warning that could be just the beginning.
This image says it all. Let's end the politically correct agenda that doesn't put America first. #trump2016pic.twitter.com/9fHwog7ssN
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 19, 2016
Others raised concerns about Trump Jr.'s statement.
"It affects human lives. These are individuals who ran away from violence, and they don't need that wound that healed to be touched again," said Aden Batar, immigration and refugee resettlement director for Catholic Community Services.
Batar, a Muslim who came to the United States as a refugee from Somalia 20 years ago, said he is grateful to "live in a community that understands what it is like to be a refugee" because of the history of Mormon persecution in the faith's early days.
"We don't only tolerate here. We welcome people in Utah," he said, asking what kind of welcome Trump Jr. would want to receive if he were the one seeking refuge in a new country.
Utah Democratic Party Chairman Peter Corroon said that "to compare humans to pieces of candy is more of the rhetoric that we hear from the Trump campaign and less of what we want to hear as Americans."
A rep for @Skittles gives me their response to @DonaldJTrumpJrpic.twitter.com/OmkJQkIqug
— Seth Abramovitch (@SethAbramovitch) September 20, 2016
Utah hasn't voted for a Democrat for president since 1964 and Trump leads Democrat Hillary Clinton in recent polls in the stat. But that hasn't stopped Clinton's campaign from courting Utah voters.
Her latest effort, the launch of Utah Mormons for Hillary, was announced Tuesday. The group describes itself as a statewide bipartisan coalition of LDS Church members backing Clinton.
David Irvine, who served as a state GOP lawmaker, said he's part of the group because his party's presidential nominee "is belittling and scapegoating people of other religious and ethnic minorities in the harshest language."
The Trump campaign has already sent his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, to campaign in Utah recently, but Trump himself has not been in the state since holding a rally in Salt Lake City in March.
"I think the fact that the campaign is sending people to Utah, … including Donald Trump's son, is itself evidence that there is a still concern about his performance here," Karpowitz said, especially compared to past GOP nominees.
But Trump Jr.'s visit isn't likely to boost his father's popularity in Utah, he said.
"I'm not sure in the midst of this controversy about this Skittles tweet that a visit is going to reassure those Utah votes who have concerns about a Trump candidacy," Karpowitz said. "The tone and the substance are not a great fit for a Utah audience."
