Amid strong criticism even from those within his own party, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Monday that he was “viciously attacked” by the father of a Muslim U.S. Army captain who was killed in Iraq.
Khizr Khan, the father of Capt. Humayun Khan, who was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart after his death in 2004, spoke last week at the Democratic National Convention. With his wife, Ghazala, at his side, Khan questioned whether Trump had read the U.S. Constitution and asked what sacrifices Trump had made.
Trump responded in an interview with ABC’s “This Week,” saying: “If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say.”
The Khans have since appeared in TV interviews, continuing their criticism of Trump, and Ghazala Khan wrote an op-ed piece Sunday for The Washington Post explaining why she didn’t speak at the DNC.
Trump tweeted Monday that “Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over T.V. doing the same.” He said the focus should be on “radical Islamic terrorism,” not the parents.
The backlash against Trump for criticizing the Khans has been swift and bipartisan, most notably from Republican Sen. John McCain.
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