The latest of Trump's election controversies has now reached the military. Army veterans are joining in the feud between the GOP presidential nominee and the parents of a killed Muslim-American army captain in Iraq.
Regardless of different political parties, veteran soldiers, Congress members and bereaved families came together to protest against Donald Trump and even threaten the GOP nominee of weakening his Republican foothold. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, Veterans of Foreign Wars and families of killed soldiers had no good words to say to Trump, as per The Washington Post.
According to another The Washington Post article, a letter to Trump was drafted by a bipartisan coalition of veterans and family members of killed military soldiers. They summon the GOP presidential nominee to apologize.
"To the military and veterans community, nothing is more sacred or honored than our Gold Star parents. Their personal sacrifice, the loss of a child, is the unimaginable. This week, when you chose to disparage the family of an American soldier who gave his life in combat, you chose to disparage all of us," the letter reads.
The letter's signatories include Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer and Rep. Seth Moulton who was once deployed to Iraq as a Marine Corps infantry officer. The letter may be opened to the public online in order to gain more signatures.
John McCain also weighed in on the matter and said as quoted by The Washington Post, "In recent days, Donald Trump disparaged a fallen soldier's parents who was taken prisoner during the Vietnam War. He has suggested that the likes of their son should not be allowed in the United States - to say nothing of entering its service. I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trump's statement. I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers, or candidates."
Meanwhile, Veterans of Forein Wars Commander in Chief, Brian Duffy, said that there are some subjects that once crossed can never be taken back. A Gold Star family member may never be berated for his exercise of freedom of expression.
The dispute of Khan and Trump started when the former expressed his criticism of the latter's anti-Muslim policies in the Democratic National Convention last Thursday. Khan criticized Trump for being divisive while Trump answered that the former has no right to question his knowledge of the constitution and even pointed to the silence of Khan's wife that may have something to do with religion.
As per Rolling Stone, Trump may have received backlash from the military, families of slain soldiers and fellow Republicans but this would do little to significantly affect Trump's poll figures. Director of Public Policy Polling Tom Jensen says they have found that public American vote firmly stands with Trump despite his controversial remarks.
"I really see it as almost a cult-like effect: The leaders say something and all of the people go along even if it's not something they would have gone along with unless Trump had gone out and said that," Jensen said to Rolling Stone.
Know more about the Khan-Trump dispute by watching the video below. Comment your thoughts and follow Parent Herald for more news and updates.
