Mark Dayton, the governor of Minnesota, denounced the recent bomb attack on a mosque in Minnesota as a “terrible, dastardly, cowardly” act of terrorism. The explosion at the Dar Al Farooq mosque in Bloomington was caused by an improvised explosive device as congregants began to gather for prayers. The FBI has taken the lead on the investigation.

Dayton added in a press conference, “if the roles were reversed, it would be called a terrorist attack. And that’s what it is, an act of terrorism.”

President Donald Trump, on the other hand, remains silent on this act of terrorism. This silence is unpresidential. By remaining silent, Trump undermines the core values of the U.S. Constitution and the founding principles of America.

The U.S. Constitution makes it clear that Congress shall not give preference to one religious group over another. The First Amendment prohibits discrimination based on religion, and safeguards the right of U.S. citizens to peaceably assemble in places of worship. As President, Donald Trump is responsible for upholding and implementing these laws. He is failing on both accounts.

Staying silent on acts of terrorism against U.S. Muslim is wrong and un-American. To remain silent is, in essence, to be morally complicit in the act of terrorism itself.

The famous term “Silence is complicit” certainly comes to mind. This phrase means that to remain silent while American Muslims are attacked or physically harmed is to be complicit in the hurting of Muslims themselves.

Knowing that a bomb was thrown at a mosque without saying anything about it makes Trump responsible in some way for the attack. Essentially, Trump is saying  –  this is okay, attack Muslims. They probably deserve it and they do not matter as much as Christians.

The idea that President Trump’s silence is unpresidential is supported by a recent ABC-News-Washington Post poll, which found seven out of 10 American believe his behavior in office has been “unpresidential.” The stunning number is coupled with a historically low approval rating that is now in the 30s, the worst recorded in 70 years.

The presidential move for Trump is to speak up and condemn the attacks as a violation of American principles enshrined in the Constitution. His allegiance is not to his white Evangelical base, but to the laws of the United States.