Implicitly Rebuking Trump, Obama Praises Gold Star Families For Sacrifice

During an interview on the ABC America, Trump claimed the soldier’s mother, Ghazala Khan, remained silent on stage during her husband’s address at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) because as a Muslim woman she “wasn’t allowed” to speak.

The outcry has been swift and bipartisan. John McCain said in a statement that the fact Trump won his party’s nomination doesn’t give him “unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us”.

Mr McCain said Cpt Khan’s name “will live forever in American -memory”, and personally thanked his parents for immigrating to America from Pakistan.

Amid cheers of the Democratic Party supporters, Khan displayed the pocket version of the United States constitution and offered a copy to Donald Trump. He said the focus should be on “radical Islamic terrorism”, not the parents. So clearly I didn’t want this to be the choice we had. That is not our style. With his despicable attacks on a Gold Star family, we now know he is a cruel and cowardly man, as well. One of Trump’s defining policies is his call to build a wall on the US border with Mexico, and forcibly deport the millions of people – many of whom are Hispanic – living in the country illegally.

It is hardly surprising that Republican leaders are increasingly having to criticise Trump and separate themselves from him, without discrediting him altogether as the party nominee.

McCain’s forceful condemnation is the toughest rebuke to date on the issue from a senior Republican, while several others have weighed in to express support for the Khans.

The episode risked setting back whatever progress Trump made during his convention at winning over the independent voters who will probably be key in the fall election.

What did this reaction say to me?

For some of Trump’s allies, the dispute is just the latest example of a troubling pattern: The real estate mogul hitting back at perceived slights or insults, regardless of the political implications.

Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Jupiter, who is running for Rubio’s seat, blasted Trump’s comments about the Khans.

“She was too choked up from seeing her son’s picture”, she told Trump. “In an ideal world we would have a candidate who would appropriately recognize his comments and apologize for them, but that’s not the situation right now”.

Trump accused Ghazala Khan, Humayun Khan’s mother, of not speaking at the DNC because of her religion. During the speech, Ghazala Khan stood quietly by his side. Khan said, demanding Trump consult the 14th amendment, which guarantees equal protection before the law. She had nothing to say.

“The VFW will not tolerate anyone berating a Gold Star family member for exercising his or her right of speech or expression”, Brian Duffy, the group’s national commander said.

Y’all know Khan and the Democrats ran a three card monte scam, letting Khan make a political attack irrelevant to his fallen son, yet bestowing on him the status of the parent of a fallen hero who is exempt from even mere contradiction, much less attack. He parades across cable networks saying things like “not all Muslims are terrorists but all terrorists are Muslim” or that Mrs Khan didn’t speak because she is Muslim, pointing to Saudi Arabia, “where Muslim women can’t speak”.