Sen. John McCain said Monday that Donald Trump’s comments about the family of a slain Muslim-American soldier don’t reflect the views of the Republican Party.
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In an emotional appearance at last week’s convention, Khizr Khan criticized Trump for proposing to temporarily freeze the entry of foreign Muslims into the USA and accused him of making no sacrifices for his country.
“No matter what Trump has said or done – from shameful personal attacks to racist outbursts – John McCain has blindly pledged to ‘support the nominee”, said Max Croes, campaign manager for McCain’s Democratic opponent, Ann Kirkpatrick, in one typical response from a Democratic Senate campaign.
Trump responded by implying Ghazala Khan’s religion preventing her from speaking at the convention, though she later said talking publicly about her late son was still too hard.
Trump and his campaign’s attacks on the Khan family took up much of the news cycle over the weekend and into Monday.
In calling out Donald Trump, Khizr Khan spoke to what was best in America.
“We need to honor their sacrifice for our country and we need to honor their son’s sacrifice for our country”, Christie told reporters at a State House news conference Tuesday.
“No one has given more for our freedom and our security than our Gold Star families”, Obama said, adding that those families “represent the very best of our country”.
Late Monday night, Trump seemed to back down slightly from his stance, posting a tweet saying, “When-ever you have the gold star families. I work very, very hard”.
Meanwhile, the leaders of America’s largest United States war veterans group, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), have also demanded an apology from Trump the same for criticizing “the mother of a fallen soldier”.
With the two sides slinging criticism, Khan accused Trump of Islamophobia, assailing his “ignorance and arrogance”, expressing exasperation on NBC that the provocative billionaire “can get up and malign the entire nation”. And few Democrats appear ready to declare Trump’s criticism of Khan a turning point.
The cautious reaction by some of Florida’s top GOP elected officials is a contrast to people such as former Gov. Jeb Bush, who has refused to endorse Trump.
Republican senators facing tough re-election bids this year also have rushed to put distance between themselves and Mr. Trump.
On Sunday, Democratic rival Clinton said Trump had scapegoated the parents.
In an open letter, 23 Gold Star families said Trump cheapened their sacrifice and called for an apology.
Mason’s email was also sent to Trump aides, demonstrating “how serious Trump’s team is treating fallout from the Khan controversy”, The Hill writes.
Malik says he relates to the Khan family’s immigrant story and would be proud if his own son followed Captain Khan’s example and joined the armed forces. I am a Gold Star mother.
Trump responded in an interview with ABC’s “This Week”, saying: “If you look at his wife, she was standing there”.
And with the general election campaign now squarely underway, the firestorm over Trump’s attacks on the Khan family is likely just a taste of trials to come as Republicans negotiate how closely to align with their volatile nominee.
He said that while Trump “hurt somebody’s feelings”, Clinton is unfit for the office because “she didn’t lift a finger and she said it didn’t matter that four Americans died”.
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Ghazala Khan wrote in Sunday’s Washington Post that she did not speak because talking about her son’s death remains hard.
