Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim American soldier who was killed in the Iraq War in 2004, hit back at comments made by Donald Trump Jr. in his new book, saying the Trump family has “no idea what service and sacrifice is.”
In his new book, “Triggered: How the Left Thrives on Hate and Wants to Silence Us,” Trump Jr. wrote about a trip he and his family made to the Arlington National Cemetery before his father’s inauguration in 2017.
{mosads}During the trip, then-President-elect Trump paid respects to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. While an Army Band bugler played “Taps” in front of the tomb during the visit, Trump Jr. wrote that he reflected on some of the sacrifices his family made so that his father could become president.
“In that moment, I also thought of all the attacks we’d already suffered as a family, and about all the sacrifices we’d have to make to help my father succeed — voluntarily giving up a huge chunk of our business and all international deals to avoid the appearance that we were ‘profiting off the office,’” Trump Jr. wrote.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Kendis Gibson on Sunday, Khan, whose son Capt. Humayun Khan was buried at the cemetery in Arlington, is pressed for his thoughts on the comments Trump Jr. made in his new book.
In response, Khan, who rose to prominence after an impassioned speech he gave blasting then-presidential candidate Trump at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, said: “I say only one thing, that it’s all about business with Donald trump and his family.”
“They have no idea what service and sacrifice is when his turn, meaning Donald trump’s turn, came to serve , he ran away,” Khan continued, adding that Trump’s family has “no idea what it takes to be” honorable.
“What does it say to you when somebody says that they’ve visited and seen those graves there at Arlington and then talks about their business sacrifice?” Gibson asked Khan. “Especially for you, who has a son that’s buried there?”
“It’s disgusting,” Khan continued. “It’s shameful, but we don’t expect any better from Donald Trump or Donald Trump Jr. because they have sacrificed nothing. They have gained from all of this, holding the office, the highest office that they have corrupted and history is being written.
“And I say this to those who stand beside, stand as [an] enabler of Donald Trump, that history is being written,” Khan continued, while also adding: “You could be on the side of this demagogue in the White House or on the side of [the] Constitution.”
Khan gained national attention after his speech denouncing Trump at the Democratic National Convention in 2016. At the time, Trump, who was the then-GOP nominee, feuded publicly with Khan, who had attacked him over his stance on immigration.