Donald Trump is taking issue with a speech at this
week's Democratic National Convention by Muslim lawyer Khizr Khan, whose
Army captain son was killed in action, and who said on stage that Trump
has “sacrificed nothing and no one" for America.
"I've made a lot of sacrifices,” Trump said in an
interview with ABC's “This Week” to be aired Sunday. “I work very, very
hard. I've created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of
jobs, built great structures."
Khan made the comment during his tribute to his son,
Humayun, who posthumously received a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart
after being killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq in 2004.
As Khan spoke, his wife Ghazala, Humayun’s mother, stood silently by his side.
Trump, during the ABC interview, also criticized
Ghazala Khan, saying: "She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she
wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me."
Ghazala Khan has said she didn't speak because she's
still overwhelmed by grief and can't even look at photos of her son
without crying.
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Trump’s comments sparked immediate outrage on social
media -- both because they critiqued a mourning mother and because many
considered them racist and anti-Muslim.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has previously raised concerns about Trump’s previous comments about Muslims.
On Saturday, Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong
said: "The speaker has made clear many times that he rejects this idea,
and himself has talked about how Muslim Americans have made the ultimate
sacrifice for this country."
Democrats and advocates for veterans’ families said
Saturday the Republican presidential nominee went too far in his
response to the Khans.
Hillary Clinton campaign spokeswoman Karen Finney
tweeted: “Trump is truly shameless to attack the family of an American
hero. Many thanks to the Khan family for your sacrifice, we stand with
you.”
Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, later
said in a statement: "I was very moved to see Ghazala Khan stand bravely
and with dignity in support of her son on Thursday night. ... This is a
time for all Americans to stand with the Khans and with all the
families whose children have died in service to our country."
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., who served on active duty
and is a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, criticized Trump and
Ryan Saturday.
“Slandering a mom and dad who lost their son in
service of our country is a new low even for Donald Trump,” Lieu said
“What is more surprising is that Speaker Paul Ryan continues to stand by
Donald Trump … I call upon Speaker Ryan to do what his heart has been
telling him all along and withdraw his endorsement of Donald Trump."
Karen Meredith, a member of Gold Star Families, a
support group for families who lost loved ones in the Iraq War, said
Humayun Khan’s parents “showed great courage” by standing up in front of
the Democratic convention and that for Trump “to insult their culture
by saying that is why she did not speak is offensive.”
“This is an attack on all Gold Star Families,” Meredith also said.
Trump's comments come a day after he attacked retired
four-star general John Allen while holding a rally in front of military
aircraft in Colorado. The Republican nominee also slammed a Colorado
Springs fire marshal for capping attendance at his event.
Last week, during the Republican convention in
Cleveland, Trump’s children repeatedly said their father had sacrificed
to run for president, particularly in setting aside his successful
business operations. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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