Former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders referenced his family’s Jewish history in condemning GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s attack on the parents of an American Muslim soldier killed in Iraq.
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But he said he could not “emphasise enough how deeply I disagree with Mr Trump’s statement”.
The Khan family spoke at the Democratic National Convention, criticizing Trump’s stance on Muslims and defending their Muslim son who died serving the country.
Eric Trump said that his father was not attacking Khizr Khan and had instead praised Humayun Khan as a hero.
Blunt’s opponent, Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, tweeted about the controversy over the weekend, chiding Trump for his treatment of Khan’s mother, Ghazala Khan.
In an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, Trump questioned why the wife of Khan, who stood next to him throughout his speech at the DNC convention, had not spoken.
“She had nothing to say…” She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say.
Trump responded in real time as Khizr Khan, father of slain Army Capt. Humayun Khan, continued to blast the mogul on TV, appearing on CNN’s “New Day” and declaring that “We will continue to speak until this candidate speaks in a dignified manner”.
McCain, who was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five years during the Vietnam War, thanked the Khans for “emigrating to the United States”, going on to say that the United States is a “better country” thanks to people like the Khans.
“I claim no moral superiority over Donald Trump”, McCain said, adding that Trump should be setting an example for the country and his party.
Mr McCain said Mr Trump did not have an “unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us”.
“Whether you’ve served or not, how can anyone’s heart be so devoid of love that they’d slander a gold star mom?” wrote Kander, who served as a military intelligence officer in Afghanistan. Husband and wife are part of each other; you should love and respect each other so you can take care of the family. In response, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky issued only tepid statements that failed even to mention the nominee by name. “If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America”.
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Khizr Khan said he appreciates that Trump called his son a hero, but he finds him “disingenuous” because of his policies and his rhetoric.
