Donald Trump’s millions of loyal ardent followers, many of whom are Filipinos in America, would even question the title of this piece as they believe in their hearts that he can indeed “make America great again.” There are kababayans who find it unfathomable how there are people who could not see beyond what they call lies the liberals are spewing against Trump. They say the real estate billionaire is the best candidate and best leader America could ever have, compared to Obama, Clinton, Sanders, and any other Democrat.
But the liberals and those who affiliate themselves with the Democratic Party are not the only ones speaking out against Trump these days, especially in light of his comments criticizing the parents of Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in the line of duty in Baghdad in 2004.
Many people from within the party he is supposed to represent have distanced themselves from his comments, while members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and a group of Goldstar families (an organization founded by individuals who lost family members in the Iraq war) have demanded an apology.
The father Khizr Khan gave a speech at last week’s Democratic National Convention against Trump’s plan to ban Muslims in America. The elder Khan said the plan denigrates the ultimate sacrifice their son and many other men in uniform made for the United States when they offered their own lives for this country they love.
Khan claimed Trump “sacrificed nothing and no one,” and this prompted the Republican presidential nominee to retaliate and even speculate why Khan’s wife Ghazala did not even speak up during the convention to deliver her own remarks.
In an opinion article published by the Washington Post, Ms. Khan wrote, “All the world, all America, felt my pain. I am a Gold Star mother. Whoever saw me felt me in their heart.”
“Donald Trump has children whom he loves. Does he really need to wonder why I did not speak?” she added.
Ms. Khan further said Mr. Trump was “ignorant” of Islam and criticized him for offering his business career as evidence that he had sacrificed for his country. “Donald Trump said he has made a lot of sacrifices,” Ms. Khan said. “He doesn’t know what the word sacrifice means.”
The New York Times reported how Mr. and Ms. Khan stiffened their denunciation of Trump, saying on the TV show “Meet the Press” on NBC last Sunday that Trump lacked the moral character and empathy to be president. Mr. Khan said Trump had shown disrespect to his wife, and he accused the Republican nominee of running a campaign “of hatred, of derision, of dividing us.”
Mr. Khan made his appeal on “Meet the Press” to the “patriotic Americans that would probably vote for Donald Trump,” saying “I appeal to them not to vote for hatred, not to vote for fear-mongering. Vote for unity. Vote for the goodness of this country.”
Trump tweeted on Monday, Aug. 1 that Khan “viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over T.V. doing the same.”
He then continued the barrage of comments against Khan on Twitter and in interviews, arguing that he has done a lot of sacrifices as a businessman. He and his surrogates contended that Khan’s remarks against him are just being exploited for political expediency.
But many leaders of the Republican Party do not agree with Trump and have been very public about their denouncement of Trump’s statements. They condemned Trump’s treatment of the Khans and as the New York Times reported, these leaders have called “his behavior outside the bounds of political discourse.”
In a statement released last Monday, Sen. John McCain accused Donald Trump of defaming Khizr Khan and argued the Republican presidential candidate does not represent the GOP.
“While our Party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us,” McCain said.
Military veterans in Congress even urged House Speaker Paul Ryan to drop his endorsement of Trump.
Recent polls reveal that Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has widened her lead over Trump after the Democratic National Convention, with an 8, even 9 percent margin. Is this ominous for Trump’s presidential ambitions?
Do you support Donald Trump’s statement? Do you agree that he went too far?
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
