Republican senator spent the end of his life apologizing to Muslims for Trump

Before he died May 4 from complications stemming from pancreatic cancer and a stroke, former GOP Sen. Bob Bennett of Utah asked his wife, Joyce, and son, Jim, if there were any Muslims in his hospital. If so, he wanted to "go up to every single one of them to thank them for being in this country, and apologize to them on behalf of the Republican Party for Donald Trump."

Joyce and Jim Bennett shared this story with The Daily Beast, as well as other tales involving his disgust with "Donald Trump's xenophobia" and proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States. Bob Bennett did not end up meeting with Muslims in the hospital, but his wife said while they were at the airport over Christmas, he "would go to people with the hijab [on] and tell them he was glad they were in America and they were welcome here. He wanted to apologize on behalf of the Republican Party." Jim Bennett also said as a Mormon, his father "recognized the parallel between the Mormon experience and the Muslim experience," and "wanted to see these people treated with kindness and not ostracized."

Bob Bennett had "absolutely no respect for Donald Trump," Jim Bennett said, and was likely "angry and frustrated when it became clear that the party wasn't going to steer clear of Trumpism." In his death, his friends, family, and colleagues aren't remembering Bob Bennett for his anti-Trump views, but rather the fact that he believed in the importance of bipartisanship, and at his funeral in the Washington area, both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid spoke.

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