Taking a swipe at Donald Trump for showing disrespect for “courageous” parents of an American hero – who laid down his life for the United States – former governor Maryland Martin O Ralley Wednesday said it could be a “turning point” in the 2016 election race,
“We can all have differences in our policy. But there are not very many Americans who will speak of or about about Gold Star parents the way Donald Trump has. We are a better country,” O’ Malley said at the 39th Convention of Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent in North America.
The Democratic politician, who served as Governor Maryland from 1999 to 2007, spoke as Trump refused to back down from his comments against Pakistani Americans Khizr Khan and his wife Ghazala Khan, whose son Humayun died during deployment in Iraq.
The Khans have criticized Trump since their appearance at the Democratic Convention, which formally nominated Hillary Clinton as Democratic candidate.
O’ Malley said his own father is buried in Arlington Cemetery, where Khans’ son is buried along with other soldiers who died in the line of duty.
Trump has been hitting out at Muslims in the wake of militant attacks in Europe and the United States, suggesting that as president he would ban entry of Muslims into the United States.
Khizr Khan, a Harvard-educated legal expert, delivered a stinging rebuke of Trump at the DNC in Philadelphia for smearing the Muslims and challenged the Republican candidate if he had ever read the US Constitution or made any sacrifice for the country.
“I think the words of Khizr Khan are going to resonate very powerfully in the next several weeks in this campaign because they were spoken from the point of love. Love for his son and love for this country, and love for the great idea of America. And we are all in this together.”
Culture Outreach : Martin O” Malley tries his hand at traditional drum-beating at the event
Citing his experience as Governor Maryland and his interaction with the immigrant communities, O’ Malley expressed warm appreciation for Pakistani-Americans’ contributions to the United States as professionals in the field of medicine and many other areas.
He also voiced support immigration reforms that help America, its economy and the people.
“We need to shake ourselves free of the voices of fear,” that have thwarted plans to update the immigration system.
“Our country is a nation of nations. We are a tremendously strong republic because of the best and the brightest from all over the country, Pakistan, Ireland, Germany and other places that have come here and made the United States their home.”
