His continued back-and-forth with Muslim-American parents of a United States soldier killed in Iraq left most Hill Republicans perplexed at how the GOP nominee wouldn’t let go of a spat with a grieving couple.
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As a number of people pointed out nearly immediately, arguing that Trump doesn’t represent the GOP is a tall order. Former Republican presidential candidate and Ohio Governor John Kasich (R) offered his support for Khan over the weekend, as did Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO), a former marine.
“Arizona is watching. It is time for Donald Trump to set the example for our country and the future of the Republican Party”.
The president never named Trump, who has waged a bitter public feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan.
It also said: “Captain Khan and thousands of other courageous American military members might still be alive today if Hillary Clinton had exercised better judgment and not created the hostile environment for our military in the Middle East. Iraq, Syria, Libya and Iran are areas of upheaval and unrest that are actively acting against American interests”.
The Arredondos are among Gold Star families writing to Trump, demanding an apology for recent criticism of the parents of Capt. Humayun Khan.
Update: Remember how Trump makes veterans one of the centerpieces of his campaign?
Asked about that speech during a weekend interview with ABC, Trump questioned whether the words were Khan’s own. He didn’t mention Trump by name but implicitly rebuked him for criticizing the Khan family. “We feel we must speak out and demand you apologize to the Khans, to all Gold Star families, and to all Americans for your offensive, and frankly anti-American comments”.
The letter was released publicly on Monday by VoteVets.org, a left-leaning group dedicated to electing liberal veterans to Congress. Meredith is a Democrat but said this is a nonpartisan issue.
“Mr. Trump has made a firestorm happen that didn’t need to happen and that insults everybody who served”, said Zappala, of Philadelphia.
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Meanwhile, Trump’s supporters, including Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, continued their contortion act of trying to distance themselves from Trump’s extreme rhetoric while still failing to rescind their endorsements of him.
