Mike Pence Awkwardly Tries To Fix Trump’s Feud With A Fallen Muslim U.S. Soldier’s Father

When Mike Pence signed on to be Donald Trump’s running mate, he had to have known awkward moments were bound to happen. This weekend was indeed disastrous for the real estate mogul and presented a few introductory opportunities to test Pence’s mop-up skills. On Sunday, Trump inadvertently revealed how he doesn’t know Russia invaded Ukraine, which would have been hard to defend. So, Pence took on the other weekend controversy — Trump’s ongoing battle with the father of a fallen Muslim U.S. soldier.

For days, Trump has exchanged blows with Khizr Khan, who famously pulled out the constitution at the DNC while speaking of his son and insisting how Trump hasn’t sacrificed anything. In response, Trump visited George Stephanopoulos and questioned whether Khan allowed his wife, Ghazala, to speak out loud. Trump also claimed he made “a lot of sacrifices,” and social media promptly christened a hashtag to roast the Republican nominee. And again, the Khans condemned Trump by calling him soulless.

Pence stayed quiet throughout this ordeal, but couldn’t ignore the mess forever. On Sunday night, he quietly released a Facebook statement that didn’t improve the situation and mainly reinforced Trump’s desire for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S. from war-torn countries:

Donald Trump and I believe that Captain Humayun Khan is an American hero and his family, like all Gold Star families, should be cherished by every American. Captain Khan gave his life to defend our country in the global war on terror. Due to the disastrous decisions of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, a once stable Middle East has now been overrun by ISIS. This must not stand.

By suspending immigration from countries that have been compromised by terrorism, rebuilding our military, defeating ISIS at its source and projecting strength on the global stage, we will reduce the likelihood that other American families will face the enduring heartbreak of the Khan family.

Pence finishes by claiming Trump will support all military families and defeat terror, which glosses over how Trump called Khan — who was speaking about his dead son — too “emotional” during his impassioned DNC speech. And although Pence tried to deflect, his running mate spent Sunday tweeting about how he simply “responded” after being “viciously attacked” by Khizr Khan.