The Khan family saga has taken on new heights of embarrassment for Donald Trump. The real estate mogul belittled the parents of a decorated war hero, U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, who lost his life in Iraq. In return, the public and the press has pounced upon Trump with more lasting power — and a telling political effect — than many of his previous controversies. The New York Times even grabbed the opportunity to remind the world of Trump’s five draft deferments, which isn’t a good look for a candidate who prides himself in holding a military supporter base.
Republican VP candidate Mike Pence tried to mop up the mess in an unsuccessful manner (he mainly emphasized Trump’s hopeful ban on Muslims from war-torn countries). Then Trump’s communication adviser tripped over himself while insisting that everything is fine because Trump considers Khan to be “a war hero.” Now Trump has trotted out his son, Eric, who answered CNN’s questions about whether his dad would apologize to the Khans:
“I think that’s a great question for him, and he has by calling them a hero. In terms of the one question — whether you’ve made a sacrifice — I think my father has. Now, that’s certainly not the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice is a soldier dying for this nation, dying to protect the three of us, no doubt about it…”
Gayle King then questioned whether Trump was the type to apologize, and Eric responded, “I think he was attacked the other day — he was attacked viciously — and by the way, that’s politics.” Eric believes his father’s a fighter, and that’s exactly what America needs. All of this sounds like a roundabout way of admitting Trump didn’t technically apologize at all, but he thinks he did. Meanwhile, Eric’s dad moved on with life and presented a showstopping reaction while receiving a Purple Heart from a veteran.
Eric also addressed Donald’s recent statements about Ivanka, which involved a very different reaction than Trump holds about his good pal, Roger Ailes. Trump said he hoped Ivanka would “find another career or find another company” if anyone sexually harassed her at work. Eric responded, “There’s no question that it should be addressed.” He didn’t stop there: “Ivanka is a strong, powerful woman. She wouldn’t allow herself to be objected to it.”
Let’s just say Megyn Kelly wasn’t impressed by this answer.
Sigh. https://t.co/dj6rtOa8ta
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) August 2, 2016