Father of Fallen Muslim Soldier Who Spoke at the DNC Says His 'Conscience Compels' Him to Fight Against Trump
Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim U.S. Army soldier killed in Iraq, has followed up his emotional Democratic National Convention speech with a call for Republican leaders to take action against GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
In an interview he and wife Ghazala gave to Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC's The Last Word on Friday, Khan revealed that Thursday's address, in which he challenged Trump's knowledge of the Constitution, was "only half of the speech."
The other half, he said, is directed at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, both of whom Khan described as "patriots" and "decent human beings."
"Nobody has been able to convince this candidate for the highest office of this exemplary democracy in the world not to violate the Constitution of the United States," Khan said. "We have quietly watched his speeches, his schoolyard bullying, and some intelligent people like yourself and others have commented, yet nothing has made the difference."
Khan continued: "Isn't it time to repudiate Trump, what he has said, what he has threatened to do? This is a moral imperative for both leaders to say to him, 'Enough. You are about to sink the ship of the patriot Republicans.'
"If your candidate wins and he goes on the way he has campaigned, my country, this country, will have a constitutional crisis like never before in the history of this country," Khan warned.
He finished on a powerful note: "My conscience compels me under these very difficult circumstances ... I don't become that emotional in public discourse, but there is so much at stake.
"I appeal to both of these leaders: This is the time. There comes a time in the history of a nation where an ethical, a moral stand has to be taken regardless of the political cost. The only reason they're not repudiating his behavior, his threat to our democracy, our decency, our foundation, is just because of political consequences."
The Khans took the DNC stage in Philadelphia on Thursday to speak about their son Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed by a car bomb in Iraq in 2004 and posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his heroism, and to criticize Trump's proposed ban on Muslim immigrants to the U.S.
" Hillary Clinton was right when she called my son 'the best of America,' " Khan said. "If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America."
He added: "Donald Trump, you are asking Americans to trust you with our future. Let me ask you: Have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy."
