Donald Trump to Army Gold Star father Khizr Khan: “I've made a lot of sacrifices" https://t.co/ZOHLGCaOyChttps://t.co/Myp4oyHyX4
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) July 30, 2016
One of the most powerful moments of the Democratic convention saw the father of a Muslim U.S. solider literally whip out the constitution on Donald Trump. Khizr Khan, whose son (Captain Humayun S. M. Khan) was killed in Iraq by a car bomb, demanded to know whether Trump had ever read the document. Khan also questioned whether the billionaire real estate mogul had known true sacrifice or loss: “You have sacrificed nothing and no one.”
Khan followed up with post-DNC interviews, which saw him appeal to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan. Khan said there was too much at stake for the Republican leaders to stand by Trump rather than oust him from the nomination. During a Saturday visit with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, Trump fired back. He questioned whether Khan authored his own speech and continued:
“Who wrote that? Did Hillary’s script writers write it?
“I think I’ve made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard. I’ve created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I’ve had tremendous success. I think I’ve done a lot.”
Trump also dismissed Khan as being too “emotional,” which seems like a shady way of discounting the substance of a very powerful speech. And the reality star also took a shot at Khan’s wife, Ghazala, who was just “standing there” with “nothing to say.” Trump wanted to know whether Khan even allowed her to speak at all. Once again, Trump reverted to a classic deflection maneuver when confronted with criticism. Instead of acknowledging troops’ sacrifices or proving that he’s read the constitution, Trump would rather insult his critic’s wife instead.