Trump Feud with Military Family Draws Ire of Fellow Republicans
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is under fire for how he reacted over the weekend to the parents of Humayun Khan, a fallen Muslim U.S. Army captain.
Khizr Khan blasted Trump on stage last week at the Democratic National Convention, noting that unlike his fallen son, who was killed in 2004 while guarding his base in Iraq, Trump has "sacrificed nothing and no one."
Trump then responded in kind by engaging in an emotionally charged feud with the Khan family. He drew the public's outrage by implying Khan's wife wasn't allowed to speak during her husband's DNC address because of the family's Muslim faith.
"If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me, but plenty of people have written that she was extremely quiet, and it looked like she had nothing to say," Trump told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos.
Several Republicans are speaking out against Trump's comments, while praising the sacrifices of Capt. Humayun Khan and his family.
"If you're going to be a leader of the free world, you have to be able to accept criticism," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said, blasting the nominee.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich tweeted, "There's only one way to talk about Gold Star parents -- with honor and respect."
The Trump campaign is attempting to clarify his comments. Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence has since released a statement addressing the controversy.
"Donald Trump and I believe that Captain Humayun Khan is an American hero," the statement read. "And his family, like all Gold Star families, should be cherished by every American. Captain Khan gave his life to defend our country in the global war on terror. Due to the disastrous decisions of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, a once stable Middle East has now been overrun by ISIS. This must not stand."
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a former presidential nominee and decorated Navy veteran, also issued a statement saying, “It is time for Donald Trump to set the example for our country and the future of the Republican Party.”
“While our party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us,” he said.
Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., is one of the few members of the GOP coming to Trump’s defense.
"He (Trump) praised his son who gave his life for this country,” Sessions told CNN. “I don't think anybody that says that we ought to slow down and be more careful about bringing in immigrants from countries that have terrorist tendencies and can't be vetted properly, I don't believe that that's a person who lacks a soul."
