A Gold Star father who was one of President Trump’s sharpest critics during the 2016 presidential campaign put his name on a Democratic National Committee fundraising email that went out to supporters today.
Khizr Khan’s son, Army Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Baqubah, Iraq, on June 8, 2004, as he stopped a suicide bomber from driving into a compound where more U.S. soldiers were located.
Khizr Khan and his wife, Ghazala, spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention to challenge Trump on comments he made on the campaign trail about restricting the entrance of Muslims into the country.
“Donald Trump, you’re asking Americans to trust you with their future. Let me ask you, have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy. In this document, look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of law,'” Khizr Khan said, holding up a pocket Constitution.
“Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders, and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing—and no one,” he added.
Speaking to ABC News after Khan’s speech, Trump responded, “I think I’ve made a lot of sacrifices…I’ve created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures.”
He also remarked about Ghazala Khan: “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. You tell me.” Ghazala Khan told media that she was too broken up about her son’s death to speak at the convention.
In the months after the convention, the Khans stepped away from the spotlight. As Election Day drew closer, though, Khizr Khan went on the campaign trail for Hillary Clinton.
Ahead of tomorrow’s monthly fundraising deadline, Khan’s DNC mailer today begins, “I am a patriotic American Muslim with undivided loyalty to our country.”
“Like many immigrants, I came to this country empty handed — but I believed in the American dream. So did many others who sacrificed their lives defending this country,” Khan continues. “If my son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, was still here today, he would be appalled by Donald Trump and his hateful agenda. Trump has done nothing but smear the character of Muslims, try to build walls to divide us, and threaten the democratic values my son and many other immigrants died protecting.”
“Many patriots like my son are buried in the Arlington National Cemetery — people of all faiths, genders, and ethnicities who died defending our country,” he concludes. “They gave their lives for our country’s ideals. We cannot let this president and his party trample on those ideals any more than they already have.”
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