Fight with Khan family tests Trump’s ‘say anything’ strategy
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Khizr Khan, father of fallen US Army Capt. Humayun S. M. Khan and his wife Ghazala speak during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on Thursday. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump broke a major American political and societal taboo over the weekend when he engaged in an emotionally-charged feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the bereaved parents of a decorated Muslim Army captain killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Colorado Springs, Colo. on Friday. Trump broke a major American political and societal taboo over the weekend when he engaged in an emotionally-charged feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the bereaved parents of a decorated Muslim Army captain killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq.
NEW YORK » Donald Trump’s presidential bid has thrived on controversy of his own making. Now, the Republican nominee kicks off the first full week of the general election campaign having put his strategy of saying the politically unimaginable to its greatest test yet.
Trump broke a major American political and societal taboo over the weekend when he engaged in an emotionally-charged feud with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the bereaved parents of a decorated Muslim Army captain killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq. He further stoked outrage by implying Ghazala Khan did not speak while standing alongside her husband at last week’s Democratic convention because they are Muslim.
The outcry was swift and bipartisan, leaving Trump largely isolated among his fellow Republicans and potentially putting at risk whatever progress the New Yorker had made during his convention at winning over the independent voters who will likely decide the fall election.
“I am appalled that Donald Trump would disparage them and that he had the gall to compare his own sacrifices to those of a Gold Star family,” said New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican seeking re-election in one of the nation’s most competitive Senate contests.
Both House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued statements praising Capt. Humayun Khan, awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart after the U.S. soldier was killed in Iraq in 2004. Though neither explicitly mentioned Trump, the congressional leaders pointedly denounced his proposed ban on foreign Muslims entering the country, a policy he had altered in recent weeks but nevertheless one that returned to the center of the campaign debate via his attacks on the Khan family.
For the second time in a week, Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, issued a statement that appeared designed to put some space between the two men atop the GOP ticket. The father of a Marine, Pence said Sunday that he and Trump believe Capt. Khan is a hero and his family “should be cherished by every American.”
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Last week, Pence said Russia would face “serious consequences” for meddling in U.S. elections at roughly the same time Trump appeared to encourage it, telling reporters he would welcome Russia unearthing emails that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton deleted from the private servers she used while secretary of state.
Pence’s late Sunday statement came after an afternoon of debate among his aides as to whether he should find a way to subtly distance himself from Trump’s comments, according to a person familiar with the internal campaign conversations who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss them publicly.
At last week’s Democratic convention, the Pakistan-born Khizr Khan told his son’s story, questioned whether Trump had ever read the Constitution and said “you have sacrificed nothing.” During the speech, Ghazala Khan stood quietly by his side.
Trump responded in an interview with ABC’s “This Week,” saying: “If you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say.”
Ghazala Khan wrote in Sunday’s Washington Post that she did not speak because talking about her son’s death remains difficult. “Every day, whenever I pray, I have to pray for him, and I cry. The place that emptied will always be empty,” she wrote.
Trump’s dispute with the Khans entangled his campaign in a days-long dispute at a moment when voters typically begin paying closer attention to the presidential race. Trump tried several times to deflect the criticism, though he refused to back down from his initial attack.
“Am I not allowed to respond?” Trump tweeted on Sunday morning. “Hillary voted for the Iraq war, not me!” His tweet followed a late Saturday night statement where Trump described Humayun Khan as “a hero,” but said his father had “no right” to “say many other inaccurate things.”
That doesn’t matter, said Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who enthusiastically endorsed Trump at the Republican convention. He said Sunday that as the parents of a fallen solider, the Khans are off limits.
“I don’t care what they say. You’ll never hear me question anything about a Gold Star family,” Walker said. “I’ve gone to too many funerals, met too many families. What they’ve sacrificed is just unbelievable.”
Trump was taken aback by the uproar, believing he was attacked first by Khan, according to a person familiar with the candidate’s thinking who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about private conversations.
The billionaire real estate mogul has also told people around him that when answering questions on “This Week” about sacrifice, he was simply pointing out his own and not equating them to those of the Khan family, the person said.
Trump spokesman Jason Miller said Sunday a biased media was at work framing the issue as one of “Trump vs. Khan” and suggested the real issue was a “Trump vs. Clinton” battle over fighting terrorism. He added that Clinton camp’s was fanning the controversy to distract from her weaknesses on national security, highlighted by the investigation into her private email server.
Clinton carefully leapt on Trump’s comments over the weekend, even as her aides admitted that they weren’t sure whether the dispute would spark a significant movement of Republicans to her campaign. Their immediate goal is to keep Trump enmeshed in a fight against the Khans.
“One doesn’t know where the bottom is. It’s hard to imagine anyone who has ever run to be president of the United States saying any of what he’s said,” Clinton said, at a campaign stop in Ashland, Ohio.
She told Republicans: “This is a time to pick country over party.”
88 responses to “Fight with Khan family tests Trump’s ‘say anything’ strategy”
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Sad and disheartening for many to see well respected Republicans literally throwing away their long held values, things they fought for so long and hard over the years, choosing still to support Trump.
Maybe never a better time for Clinton to reach across the aisle to work for solutions through compromise.
Never a better time for America to show leadership, courage and unity.
What well respected Republicans? They have the majority but can’t make it happen in DC. Their only hope is Trump. They better wake up.
Party powers matter. Party structure and infrastructure matter. Making ties and relationships with party elders matter. Understanding the history and road of each respective party matters. Exhibiting a modicum and deference to established party leaders matter.
These idioms are true from both Ds and Rs.
Ikefromeli ,
Why are you repeating yourself?
Party powers matter. Party structure and infrastructure matter. Making ties and relationships with party elders matter. Understanding the history and road of each respective party matters. Exhibiting a modicum and deference to established party leaders matter.
These idioms are true from both Ds and Rs. N
Ikefromeli, let’s keep it short.
How did these people from the junk country Pakistan even enter the US ?
Pakistan is one of the most corrupt countries in the Middle East. It’s either you have money or you don’t. He must have bought his way in.
Sounds like the hard road of this American student, follows that of many successful immigrants: intelligence, incredible hard work, patriotism and the optimal vision of American fullness.
Khizr Khan’s biography reads like a classic immigrant’s success story. He was born in Pakistan and was married to his wife, Ghazala Khan. Then, he moved to the United Arab Emirates for a few years before arriving in Boston, Massachusetts in the year 1980. There Khizr enrolled for a master’s program in law at Harvard University. After completing his studies, the family moved to Maryland where his son, Humayun Khan attended high school. Humayun joined the army and when he was called on for duty, he went to Iraq to defend his country against aggression. He died trying to save his unit from a suicide car explosion.
Les, et al, it seems he has accomplished things that are a mere vision in your head and beyond your practical reach. Again, very telling…
You’re right, of course. That family is exactly the type of immigrants this country (should) want, and needs.
Mr Trump seems to validate every day – sometimes several times a day – that he is fundamentally unfit for office.
The best news is that he is sinking in the polls. Badly. Nate Silver at http://www.fivethirtyeight.com now says that Mrs. Clinton (using his Polls Plus formulae) leads Trump by more than 20 points. It’s approaching the mathematically impossible for Trump to win in the electoral college.
As a developing country, the majority of Pakistan is poor, with citizens living below the poverty line. British Red Cross charities provides aid in the form of food and medicine to these poorer areas.
Some parts of Pakistan are considerably wealthier, usually cities which are resided in by high-ranking politicians. There is actually an unequal divide between the rich and poor in Pakistan, the poorer conditions are often hidden from the media. But hiding their existence from the media doesn’t hide the fact that the majority of Pakistan’s citizens live in what the developed world label as poverty conditions.
And your point?
Here is another story but I guess the DNC couldn’t locate Maj Hasan’s parents to appear at their convention…..Nidal Malik Hasan (born September 8, 1970) is an American convicted of fatally shooting 13 people and injuring more than 30 others in the Fort Hood mass shooting on November 5, 2009.[3] Hasan was a United States Army Medical Corps psychiatrist who admitted to the shootings at his court-martial in August 2013.[3][4][5] A jury panel of 13 officers convicted him of 13 counts of premeditated murder, 32 counts of attempted murder, and unanimously recommended he be dismissed from the service and sentenced to death.[3][6][7] Hasan is incarcerated at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas awaiting execution while his case is reviewed by appellate courts.
Conflating another person, not even remotely involved with the situation is just asinine. Should I then conflate every white person with lynching?
You have the logic of a gnat.
It’s interesting and somewhat entertaining to see and watch Donald Trump mouth off every so many days. Similar to how the water mains break periodically here on Oahu. Trump’s musings is like watching a train wreck in slow motion, or watching a finger slowly approach and then press a self-destruct button. Hopefully someone is compiling a “Trump’s Greatest Hits/Flubs” collection of audio, video, and still-lifes for publication. I wonder how the Donald will insert his foot (and swallow) next?
this muslim family is politicizing the death of their son. donald trump had nothing to do about his death. go blame bush and clinton who went approve of this war. kahn has no right to dis a natural born american and a presidential nominee. lots of people agree with trump and he will win this skirmish. the liberal press making a big fuss about nothing and will keep feeding it to keep it alive. the main story is on lying hillery and the clintons. trump is trying to keep america safe. hillary will let thousands of unvetted muslims and islamic radicals into the country. they are at war with us! they said so! franklin roosevelt went lock up the japanese and took their property during the second world war..he was a frigging
democrat.
auwe aswyhod
make hawaii great again!
Crooked Hillary is evil personified.
Dear Mr. Khan,
I want to preface this letter by stating that I respect your son’s sacrifice for this great nation. By all accounts, he is a true hero that sacrificed himself in service to our country. For that I am thankful.
As a veteran, I watched your comments at the Democratic National Convention with a mixture of sadness, and anger. The United States has a military comprised of volunteers. Every single member has made the conscious choice to join the military and serve. There is not a single service member who has been forced into service. It is important for all service members (and apparently, their families) to understand that service to this great nation does not imbue one with special privileges or rights. I found your comments troubling when you said: “Have you ever been to Arlington cemetery? Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one.”
Does it matter whether Mr. Trump has sacrificed “…nothing and no one?”…has Ms. Clinton “..sacrificed” for this nation? How about Mr. Obama? Your comment stating that Mr. Trump “…has sacrifice no one” is alarming. Are you intimating that YOU sacrificed? Sir, your son willingly sacrificed himself. As a father I cannot imagine the pain you must feel but his sacrifice is his own. He was not forced to serve.
I am troubled that you would allow a party that has little more than contempt for the US Service Member to parade you into the DNC to denounce Donald Trump. Did you watch when protesters at the DNC booed and heckled Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Florent Groberg? Did you notice your party interrupting the moment of silence for slain police officers? Your own hypocrisy in not denouncing these acts and instead using the DNC as a platform to make a political point is disgraceful. The simple fact is that whether one served or sacrificed does not give greater power to their statements. One vote is as valuable as another. That sir, is why our Country is great. Your condemnation of one person for a statement while standing idly as your party disparages veterans and police officers is the height of hypocrisy. Military veteran Chris Mark
Question is why does The Chump feel the need to argue with these parents. Bottom line is that they lost their son who was killed in action saving the lives of his men. That is a fact and undisputable. His ego is so large that he has shown that he cannot handle ANY type of criticism that is directed towards him. He claims that he was viciously attacked by Mr.Kahn. What a pu–y. The man is angry because his son died but more so because they’re Muslims whom the Chump has continuously berated and belittles. I would bet my life that if this cowards life was ever threatened directly by anyone, he would care less of who would come to his aid. Black, yellow, brown or white no matter as long as his sorry a– was protected.
Sarge I gotta give credit to you when credit is due. Admirable comment as comments go. My problem? Why couldn’t the Chump say something similar. I have learned in my life that decent human beings can agree to disagree with respect and humility. Relationships are bonded when mutual respect and deciency rise above personal differences. I’m sure that as a veteran something hit close to home that made you connect with the Kahn family. A connection that is strange to the Chump because he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
Trump will be Trump, and he will never change no matter how hard party leaders try, or anyone else for that matter.
and you watch. no matter how hard the liberal press try to bring him down, he going win the election. mark my words.
hillarious will feel the heat from the wiki-leaks about her unsecured servers in october and will show her real colors.
lying cheating greedy clintons.
auwe aswyhod
make america and hawaii safe again
He’s losing now, and badly. Winning the electoral college vote will be essentially impossible.
The Democrats should not do everything possible to make his defeat as humiliating as possible, to silence him forever. His personality defects will not well tolerate a humiliating public loss.
That should have been … The Democrats should NOW.
NOT was a typo.
Not, Klastri I know you meant what you said. You don’t make mistakes. You are perfection personified. You must throw rose petals upon the ground you walk. Can’t wait for the poll results.
As of Friday, Donald not only lost the lead he had gained from his post convention bump, he lost another 6 points. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton held a 6- percentage-point lead over Republican rival Donald Trump, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that was released on Friday, the day after she formally accepted her party’s nomination.
Most pollsters expect Donald to drop even further after a tumultuous weekend of almost endless gaffs. Was this the much anticipated news you were waiting for, Les!
98 days till Election Day. A lot can happen in 98 days.If she doesn’t have a 2 digit lead she’s done. The Democrats have shot their load. It’s Trump time. Often and heavy and just as dirty. I hope you are sending money. She’ll spend more money and owe the special interests her life. One way or another Trump will make her pay.
les, CBS poll puts Mrs. Clinton at +6. Add Johnson to the mix and she is still at +5.
Polls on Real Clear Politics.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/
Your right, Reuters came out with a poll that was debunked. That’s the problem with polls.
Let’s see what happens today or tomorrow?
Tita, ok, thanks,
lespark – It’s over. Trump is done.
Les, you said you were looking forward to seeing the most recent poll results–and now you immediately pivot to being dismissive and discounting these rather binary findings.
Yup. The electoral college is the measure of truth that all of this and everyone has to answer to. Donald has blown it, and there is just no way has the votes from an electoral basis.
Les, Klas hands you your hat almost daily. Is he smarter, well, yes that is beyond obvious. But, what is more consequential is that he usually supports his perspectives by reputable cites and articles. You loop in some idealogical talking point, without objective reference, hoping somehow, that repetition will makeup for either being clever or veracriy.
Just curious, aren’t you a tad embarrassed?
Did you feed your parrot this morning? Just a reminder
If I told you a year ago that Donald Trump would be the Republican nominee for President, you would have said it was impossible. I don’t think he’ll win either but it’s not impossible. Who predicted he would come this far? No one but Trump.
The families of over dozens of service members (both Rs n ads) killed in combat criticized Donald Trump’s recent attacks on the parents of a Muslim-American soldier who died while serving in Iraq.
The letter, released Monday by political action committee VoteVets, called Trump’s criticism of Khizr and Ghazala Khan “repugnant, and personally offensive to us.” The Republican presidential nominee had suggested that Ghazala Khan was being forced to stay silent as her husband delivered a fiery address during last week’s Democratic National Convention.
“When you question a mother’s pain, by implying that her religion, not her grief, kept her from addressing an arena of people, you are attacking us,” the letter, signed by 17 families, read. “When you say your job building buildings is akin to our sacrifice, you are attacking our sacrifice. You are not just attacking us, you are cheapening the sacrifice made by those we lost.”
What is to be expected of a man who has no respect for service, office and decorum?
Ikefromeli, what did you expect a Clinton PAC to say. Vote for Trump?
Give it a rest.
Mother’s pain? You make it seem like she’s the only mother who lost a love one. Is it because of sacrifice, Islam, the Constitution? You know this was a hack job. Pure and simple. Nothing more, nothing less.
If Trump is dumb enough to fall into a trap set by a PAC, and take the bait hook, line and sinker, how will he have the cajones to deal with superpowers and their like? He should have stayed silent about this one and let it go, but no, he had to open his big mouth. A true statesman would have been gracious and took up the fight on another issue but Trump can’t do it.
Ikefromeli ,
What did you expect a PAC to say, Vote for Trump?
Do you think the Trump PAC will say that? He lied of course about not ever having one. Surprise!
“Now, let’s be honest Mr. Khan, those of us with knowledge could just as easily bring attention to SGT Hasan Karim Akbar and Major Nidal Hasan, both Muslims serving in the U.S. Army. Just as you celebrated your Muslim son’s sacrifice, there are others who could give testimony to their loss due to those Muslim soldiers — and I use lower case reference to them (soldiers) because they dishonored the oath and were traitors to our Code of Honor. Your son was not, but that had nothing to do with him being a Muslim: he was an American Soldier” ABW
Nidal Malik Hasan (born September 8, 1970) is an American convicted of fatally shooting 13 people and injuring more than 30 others in the Fort Hood mass shooting on November 5, 2009.[3] Hasan was a United States Army Medical Corps psychiatrist who admitted to the shootings at his court-martial in August 2013.[3][4][5] A jury panel of 13 officers convicted him of 13 counts of premeditated murder, 32 counts of attempted murder, and unanimously recommended he be dismissed from the service and sentenced to death.[3][6][7] Hasan is incarcerated at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas awaiting execution while his case is reviewed by appellate courts.
You really don’t deserve to vote. Really.
Anyone who conflates two unrelated events in this manner cannot think.
As of this morning–August 1
Race/Topic (Click to Sort) Poll Results Spread
General Election: Trump vs. Clinton CBS News Clinton 47, Trump 41 Clinton +6
General Election: Trump vs. Clinton vs. Johnson CBS News Clinton 43, Trump 38, Johnson 10
HRC opening a 6% lead, and most pollsters expect that to widen his week, with all the mistakes Trump campaign incurred the last 72 hours. Remember, when the lead grows to 9%, that profoundly impacts “down stream races” and thus places legitimate jeopardy on the US House. The US Senate is already teetering to be D, as the R are defending 34 races in the fall.
Ikefromeli ,
The CBS polls, they asked 20% more Democrats than Republicans. What’s up with that? Rigged just like everything the Democrats do.
Naturally if you poll more Democrats you will get a better result.
Naturally if you live with your mom and are not gainfully employed, it will make if difficult to meet girls.
It’s not that hard, you can do it.
Rs are turning on him.
Trump criticized Khizr for saying at the Democratic National Convention that the business mogul has “sacrificed nothing,” claiming Khan “has no right” to say “inaccurate things” in front of millions. McCain condemned Trump’s statements, thanking the Khans for immigrating to America and for their son’s sacrifice.
“It is time for Donald Trump to set the example for our country and the future of the Republican Party. 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 Monday in a statement.
“Lastly, I’d like to say to Mr. and Mrs. Khan: thank you for immigrating to America. We’re a better country because of you,” he added. “And you are certainly right; your son was the best of America, and the memory of his sacrifice will make us a better nation – and he will never be forgotten.”
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) also criticized Trump for his comments on Khan, advising the candidate in a statement to “focus on jobs and national security and stop responding to every criticism whether it’s from a grieving family or Hillary Clinton.”
As both Les and Sarge have so waxed poetically, with friends like this…..
Again, ikefromeli , get the story straight without the usual bias. McCain is in a tough battle in AZ. He’s just like Crooked Hillary, wet his finger and see which way the wind is blowing. Quite frankly I think we’ve seen enough of John McCain. He can retire off his millions and go drink Budweiser.
His daughter is a Fox contributor and very much Pro Trump.
Remember now, get the story straight.
Are you crazy??? Megan McCain has a well documented history of hating Trump. See:http://www.people.com/article/meghan-mccain-response-donald-trump-attacks-khans
This is the kind of lying that Trump’s supporters must engage in. Anything to shield and obfuscate the fact that he’s going to lose in a humiliating defeat. More and more folks are now saying that it’s likely the Senate will swing to Democratic control.
Chirp chirp, crickets and again,,another awkward silence when directly given the truth.
Chirp chirp, not just awkward silence…..but now let’s add embarrassed ignorant silence.
I am troubled that you would allow a party that has little more than contempt for the US Service Member to parade you into the DNC to denounce Donald Trump. Did you watch when protesters at the DNC booed and heckled Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Florent Groberg? Did you notice your party interrupting the moment of silence for slain police officers? Your own hypocrisy in not denouncing these acts and instead using the DNC as a platform to make a political point is disgraceful. The simple fact is that whether one served or sacrificed does not give greater power to their statements. One vote is as valuable as another. That sir, is why our Country is great. Your condemnation of one person for a statement while standing idly as your party disparages veterans and police officers is the height of hypocrisy. Military veteran Chris Mark
PHILADELPHIA – The National Security Agency (NSA) has “all” of Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails and the FBI could gain access to them if they so desired, William Binney, a former highly placed NSA official, declared in a radio interview broadcast on Sunday.
Speaking as an analyst, Binney raised the possibility that the hack of the Democratic National Committee’s server was done not by Russia but by a disgruntled U.S. intelligence worker concerned about Clinton’s compromise of national security secrets via her personal email use.
Binney was an architect of the NSA’s surveillance program. He became a famed whistleblower when he resigned on October 31, 2001, after spending more than 30 years with the agency.
And for all of you who love the notion of a captain of industry running the country, tell me why that real big dogs (not like fake Donald or Sandy Aldeson) like Waren Buffett, Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg all support HRC?
Do you think maybe they know something you don’t? Or maybe between these three they operate the largest cumulative and in the aggregate philanthropic activities in the world–and that is by a large margin….and the Donald literally almost not a thing.
Huge breaking news. Sally Bradshaw, top advisor to the Bushs, a lifelong R, and very respected within conservative circles, from both a political and public policy, has said she is leaving the R party– the sole reason–Donald Trump.
She has said she could not look her children in there eyes, she was ashamed by him, and called him a narcissist and a practioner of misogyny.
Goodness, the repudiation of trump within his own party gets larger and larger by the day.
Just astonishing news. Every corner of the R party is coalescing around not seeing a Trump presidency. Sally is a super intimate counsel of the Bush family, but also she was one of the main authors of the post Romney evaluation that articulated that going forward the R party had to have a more inclusive tent, specifically to women with college degree, people of color, and voters unde 35–and attendant public policy and legislation.
People in the know, realize this is huge and there is a profound desperation coming from many quarters of the R establishment.
Key word “Establishment”. The elite from both parties are exactly the same. It’s all about what they will get, not the Country or the Citizens.
Which has significant implications from couple of perspectives. The undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the democrats prompted the 2014 political shift, which was essentially a blank check written as pre payment for change. Having squandered that mandate, the GOP now faces a loss of confidence that has resulted in the Donald. As the days pass, and as the reality of Trump’s absolute unacceptability sinks in and the frustration mounts, a growing desire for another plan will germinate into a swelling upsurge of support for Gary Johnson. More and more voters with significant gravitas are already leaning in that direction, and, with more than enough time remaining to influence that huge base of frustrated voters desperate for real change, we may yet see a real swing towards sanity..
There’s almost a 0% chance of that happening, according to folks like Nate Silver who know how this works.
He’s now predicting that Mrs. Clinton will win in a landslide. He’s rarely wrong.
Yup. In the next 30 days, maybe even less, they would have to exhibit definitive polling at 20% plus…..it’s a great side narrative, but from a numbers perspective, almost impossible.
If there’s any nation’s people who’ve accomplished the “impossible” routinely, it would have to be this nation and it’s citizens. It will boil down to each heart, while standing in the booth, to determine whether they’re willing to vote for someone they can believe in, or simply against someone they cannot.
By the way, klas, wasn’t that Silver guy’s grandfather one of the pundits guaranteeing a Dewey win?
“http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-30/clinton-lead-over-trump-surges-after-reuters-tweaks-poll”. Offers an interesting perspective, made incalculably more so with the inclusion of Johnson in the upcoming debates..
On the bright side, at least he’s consistent. Reminds me of those villains we see in professional wrestling or in superhero movies who stick to their script no matter what. Watch him get bated over and over before the general election as more dirt starts to come out from the woodwork.
Trump is susceptible to putting his foot in his mouth and thoughtful responses instead of reactions would serve him better. Having said that, a gross distortion of Trump’s position on Muslim immigration was put forth by Mr. Khan. Trump has never proposed a ban on ALL Muslims. Under Trump’s proposal, Khan and his family for example would have perhaps experienced a delay in getting into this country while security checks were performed. Unlike the current system, security protocols are lacking thus allowing nefarious types to sneak in via immigration without detection. Anything wrong with trying to screen immigrants to prevent terrorists from getting into this country? Isn’t that the foremost duty of the government to protect the safety and well being of its own citizens? Furthermore, Trump could have gone a step further by simply asking Mr. Khan how a devout Muslim can be devoted to sharia law and loyal to the US Constitution as they are diametrically opposed to one another. One can pledge allegiance to one but not the other.
As a reminder, Mr. Trump said: ” “Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.”
President of the US? Me, myself and Ego! Disappointing! Too pilau!
Ah! It’s Monday morning, birds are singing and it’s time for the Cranky Old Men’s Circle Twerk. All is as it should be in the “best of all possible worlds.”
lol, now that you’ve yelled “present”, a calm pervades the room..
Good, bad or indifferent, it’s all about being in the media limelight. Whether it works remains to be seen on election day, come November, 100 days hence.
Both Mrs. Smith and Mr. Khan have proved one thing. Crooked Hillary, MIA Obama, Leon Panetta are to blame.
They are trying to deflect from their incompetence by smearing Trump.
Smear Trump? Not necessary since he does more than enough to make himself look childish and immature. Had he just apologized and moved on, this situation would not be half as bad. But he has proven himself consistently incapable of apologizing for his mistakes or ignoring criticism. His habit of responding to criticism with personal attacks more befitting a 6 year old will be his eventual downfall.
He should just say I’m sorry. A true leader would recognize and admit when a mistake has been made.
This appears to rank up there with Joseph Welch asking tail gunner joe mcCarthy whether at long last if he had no shame.
It very possibly could be the issue that cripples herr drumpf.
The only way it could hold more of a Karmic balance would have been if the Khan family had, like the romney’s, spent a few generations in mexico before emigrating to the US.
A Muslim, Mexican immagrant family of a war hero taking down the orange braddidocio of the loud mouth.
The Humanity, and patriotism, of the Khan family sets the drumpf family lack of both off in stark contrast.
Mr. Khan’s son was a hero, the father was not. He and many others lost sons. Why iwas this man singled out. Hack job, he’s in cahoots with the Saudis who donated thousands if not millions to the Clinton Foundation and the go to guy if you are a wealthy Saudi who needs a favor.
Buahhahahahahahahahahhaa.
An online survey conducted by RABA Research on Friday found that Clinton has surged ahead of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, securing support from 46 percent of respondents to Trump’s 31 percent. This 15-percentage-point lead marks one of the largest the former secretary of state has ever held over her GOP opponent. In a RABA survey conducted immediately after the Republican convention two weeks ago, Clinton held a 5-percentage-point lead, while surveys from other polling organizations had Trump even with or slightly leading Clinton.
Yes, you read that correctly….15 percent!!!!
(CNN)The Veterans of Foreign Wars blasted Donald Trump Monday and a group of Gold Star families of fallen service members demanded he apologize for comments about the parents of a slain Muslim U.S. solider.
“Election year or not, the VFW will not tolerate anyone berating a Gold Star family member for exercising his or her right of speech or expression,” said Brian Duffy, who was elected July 27 to lead the nation’s oldest and largest major war veterans organization.
“There are certain sacrosanct subjects that no amount of wordsmithing can repair once crossed,” added Duffy, the national commander of the near 1.7 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and its Auxiliary.
“Giving one’s life to nation is the greatest sacrifice, followed closely by all Gold Star families, who have a right to make their voices heard.”
The VFW statement came just hours after a group of Gold Star families wrote to Trump.
“Your recent comments regarding the Khan family were repugnant and personally offensive to us,” wrote the group of 11 “Gold Star” families, who are those who have lost a family member in war. “We feel we must speak out and demand you apologize to the Khans, to all Gold Star families, and to all Americans for your offensive, and frankly anti-American comments.”
The letter, published Monday on VoteVets.org, comes amid a chorus of criticism in response to Trump’s burgeoning feud with the Khan family, which began after Khizr Khan, the father of slain Army Cpt. Humayun Khan, delivered a forceful condemnation of Trump in a speech at the Democratic National Convention. Trump responded by criticizing his wife, Ghazala Khan, for her silence during his speech and suggesting she wasn’t allowed to speak.
“Ours is a sacrifice you will never know. Ours is a sacrifice we would never want you to know,” the families wrote in the letter.
The group hit Trump for questioning why Khan’s wife didn’t speak at the convention, writing: “When you question a mother’s pain, by implying that her religion, not her grief, kept her from addressing an arena of people, you are attacking us. When you say your job building buildings is akin to our sacrifice, you are attacking our sacrifice.”
And the group rejected the idea that Trump was being unfairly criticized for his remarks out of “political correctness.”
He repeated that thrust during an interview on ABC’s This Week. “Well, I’ll tell you what I don’t like. It’s against two NFL games, I got a letter from the NFL saying, this is ridiculous, why are the debates—because the NFL doesn’t want to go against the debates,” he said.
Trump was lying on both counts. There’s no evidence of Clinton tampering with debate dates, and as CNN’s Brian Stelter pointed out to Trump spokesman Jason Miller, the NFL released a statement saying, “While we obviously wish the debate commission could find another night, we did not send a letter to Trump.” Appearing on Reliable Sources, Miller hemmed and hawed over whether had Trump had received a letter, even though it was by now clear he had not. (This fits with a pattern of Trump needlessly lying. He also claimed that he had recommended that the Republican convention be held in Cleveland, even though he was not a candidate or even a likely one at the time, and no evidence exists that he made such a recommendation.)
In any case, Stelter asked Miller whether Trump wanted the debate dates changed:
Jason Miller: We would not like the debates not be head to head against major NFL games. We like to see some—that’s something we’ll be discussing as we got into negotiations.
Brian Stelter: Will Trump skip the debates if they are continued to be scheduled on football nights?
Miller: Brian, we want as many people to be watching the debates as possible. That’s our spirit of it. The Clinton camp would like these debates to be head-to-head with the NFL games. So, we’re going to go in and start negotiations…
In other words, Miller was unwilling to commit to Trump debating.
A coward is a coward is a coward….
Letter, statement what’s the difference.
That it never happen.p and he flat out lied about it.
What next? What is going to say tomorrow?
Here’s an example of Trump’s “say anything” strategy, which should really by called the “say anything regardless of the facts” strategy:
In April 2014, in a Fox News interview, Trump said, “Well, [Putin]’s done an amazing job of taking the mantle. And he’s taken it away from the president and you look at what he’s doing. And so smart. When you see the riots in a country (Ukraine) because they’re hurting the Russians, okay, ‘We’ll go and take it over.’ And he really goes step by step by step, and you have to give him a lot of credit.”
Yesterday, Trump said, “[Putin]’s not going to go into Ukraine. Just so you understand, he’s not going to go into Ukraine.”
Pathological liar? Grossly uninformed? Dementia? All of the above?
bs, you are the biggest bs around yet you cannot detect your own bs because you are full of your bs.
Read “The facts behind Donald Trump’s many falsehoods”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-facts-behind-donald-trumps-many-falsehoods/2016/08/01/0571b048-582d-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-f%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
or “Is Donald Trump just plain crazy?”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/is-donald-trump-just-plain-crazy/2016/08/01/cd171e86-581d-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-c%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
or “There is something very wrong with Donald Trump”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/there-is-something-very-wrong-with-donald-trump/2016/08/01/73809c72-57fe-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-a%3Ahomepage%2Fstory
or “Lies, lies and more lies”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/wp/2016/08/01/lies-lies-and-more-lies/
Michael Gerson, George W. Bush’s senior speechwriter and a leader of the evangelical intelligentsia, wrote today in a op-ed titled “Dear Republican leaders: It’s not too late to dump Trump”:
“Those who support Trump are setting the Republican Party at odds with the American story told by Lincoln and King: a nationalism defined by striving toward unifying ideals of freedom and human dignity. Is this what the speaker of the House, the Senate majority leader, the chairman of the Republican Party and so many other good people intended when they entered politics? Is this how they define their soul’s high purpose?
In his last public address, the night before his murder, King mused on mortality, saying that he would die “happy” and “not fearing any man” because he was sure of his life’s mission, which included “standing up for the best in the American dream.”
Which Republican leaders can now rest in that confidence? It is not too late to repudiate.”