Donald Trump’s remarks against parents of a fallen American soldier have come under fire from across the political spectrum, triggering widespread debates and spotlighting the Pakistani-American couple since their joint appearance at the Democratic National Convention.
The Pakistani-American couple has received praise for their commitment to the United States.
The firestorm began when Trump lashed out at Khizr Khan, the father of slain Capt. Hamayun Khan, over his moving speech last week at the DNC in Philadelphia. The Republican candidate doubted whether the Khan, a Harvard-educated legal expert, had prepared his own remarks and also questioned his wife Ghazala’s silence on stage.
The real estate tycoon implied in his comments that the soldier’s mother had not spoken apparently because of the western perception of female subservience as generally perceived in some Western countries.
A spokeswoman for Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican leader, responded to Trump’s comments, reaffirming the Speaker’s distaste for Trump’s rhetoric about Muslims.
“The speaker has made clear many times that he rejects this idea, and himself has talked about how Muslim Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country,” Spokewoman AshLee Strong said in a statement to CBS News.
Ibrahim Hooper, the spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said on Saturday, “It’s really despicable that anyone, let alone a presidential candidate, would choose to dishonour the service of an American who gave his life for this nation.”
On his part, Khizr Khan hit back at Trump in an interview on Saturday, saying his wife had not spoken at the convention because it was too painful for her to talk about her son’s death.
Trump, he said, “is devoid of feeling the pain of a mother who has sacrificed her son.”
In responding to Khizr Khan’s comments that Trump has sacrificed nothing for his country, the GOP candidate said in an ABC News interview: “I think I’ve made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I’ve created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I’ve had tremendous success. I think I’ve done a lot.”
Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, posted a statement saluting the couple.
“I was very moved to see Ghazala Khan stand bravely and with dignity support of her son on Thursday night. And I was very moved to hear her speak last night, bravely and with dignity, about her son’s life and the ultimate sacrifice he made for his country,” Clinton said in a statement, referring to a TV appearance by Ghazala Khan Friday night.
“This is a time for all Americans to stand with the Khans, and with all the families whose children have died in service to our country. And it is a time to honor the sacrifice of Captain Khan and all the fallen. Captain Khan and his family represent the best of America, and we salute them.”
Tim Miller, a former communications director for Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign, called Trump’s comments “inhuman.”
“Her son is dead. This is inhuman,” he tweeted.
John Weaver, a Republican strategist for Ohio Governor and former presidential candidate John Kasich also rebuked Trump, saying he has “no redeeming qualities.”
Kasich himself later tweeted calling for “honour and respect” when talking about “Gold Star parents.”
In a statement later at night, Trump called Humayun Khan “a hero,” but again disputed Khizr Khan’s speech.
“While I feel deeply for the loss of his son, Mr. Khan, who has never met me, has no right to stand in front of millions of people and claim I have never read the constitution, and say many other inaccurate things,” Trump said. “If I become president, I will make America safe again.”
Meanwhile, the Pakistani-American mother the slain US soldier in the Iraq war has hit back at Donald Trump’s criticism that she did not speak alongside her husband at the Democratic National Convention.
“Here is my answer to Donald Trump: Because without saying a thing, all the world, all America, felt my pain. I am a Gold Star mother. Whoever saw me felt me in their heart,” she wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post, published on Sunday.
She said she had begged him not to “run around trying to become a hero” but he had responded: “Mum, these are my soldiers, these are my people. I have to take care of them.”
Ghaza Khan wrote, “Donald Trump said I had nothing to say. I do. My son Humayun Khan, an Army captain, died 12 years ago in Iraq. He loved America, where we moved when he was 2 years old. He had volunteered to help his country, signing up for the ROTC at the University of Virginia. This was before the attack of Sept. 11, 2001. He didn’t have to do this, but he wanted to.
“When Humayun was sent to Iraq, my husband and I worried about his safety. I had already been through one war, in Pakistan in 1965, when I was just a high school student. So I was very scared. You can sacrifice yourself, but you cannot take it that your kids will do that.”
