We noted late yesterday that Donald Trump and Ted Cruz had indicated they were making some sort of “joint appearance” at an event opposing the Iran Nuclear deal. Get a load of who’s sponsoring it (via TPM’s Catherine Thompson):

A think tank founded by a notorious anti-Muslim activist is planning to co-sponsor an upcoming rally against the Iran deal headlined by Republican presidential candidates Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Donald Trump.

Cruz and Trump announced Thursday that they were planning the joint event to voice their opposition to a landmark agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program. Tea Party Patriots, the Center for Security Policy and the far-right Zionist Organization of America were expected to sponsor the rally, which is scheduled for Sept. 9 on Capitol Hill, according to The Washington Post.

The Center for Security Policy is an anti-Muslim think tank founded by former Reagan administration official Frank Gaffney, who often speaks about the threat of creeping Sharia law and has accused Republican and Democratic officials alike of being Muslim Brotherhood plants in the U.S. Cruz spoke via video link to an event Gaffney’s organization put on last month in the first-in-the-nation primary state, the New Hampshire National Security Action Summit.

Gaffney also endorsed Trump’s hardline immigration platform last week on the Center for Security Policy’s blog.

Expect some outside-the-boxes talk from the two wacko bird candidates on the Iran deal: It’s not just a bad deal on balance, but threatens the existence of Israel and the security of the U.S., and raises the awful specter of a Muslim America! It’s unclear if it will be Shia or Sunni, but as always, it’s appropriate to kill ’em all and let the Judeo-Christian God sort ’em out.

Our ideas can save democracy... But we need your help! Donate Now!

Ed Kilgore is a political columnist for New York and managing editor at the Democratic Strategist website. He was a contributing writer at the Washington Monthly from January 2012 until November 2015, and was the principal contributor to the Political Animal blog.