In a defensive crouch, Donald Trump complained on Monday about being “viciously attacked” by the father of a decorated Muslim Army captain killed in Iraq, persisting in an emotionally charged feud that has left him increasingly isolated among fellow Republicans.
Mr. Trump broke a political and societal taboo over the weekend when he criticised Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the bereaved parents of Capt. Humayun Khan, who was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart after he was killed in Iraq in 2004. Mr. Trump stoked outrage by implying Ghazala Khan did not speak while standing alongside her husband at last week’s Democratic convention because she is a Muslim woman.
Trump’s defence Mr. Trump tweeted on Monday that “Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over T.V. doing the same.” He said the focus should be on “radical Islamic terrorism”, not the parents. Khizr Khan told CNN on Monday: “We want to be out of this controversy. That is not our style... We want to maintain our dignity,” even as the couple kept up a round of TV appearances. Said his wife: “My religion or my family or my culture never stopped me from saying what I want to say.”
At last week’s convention, Mr. Khan criticised Mr. Trump for proposing to freeze the entry of foreign Muslims into the U.S. and accused him of making no sacrifices for his country.
Both House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell issued statements over the weekend praising the couple’s son. Though neither mentioned Mr. Trump, the congressional leaders pointedly denounced his proposed restriction on foreign Muslims.
The episode risked setting back whatever progress Mr. Trump made during his convention at winning over the independent voters who will probably be key in the election.
Yet he’s repeatedly made inflammatory statements at little apparent political cost and sometimes to his benefit going back to the beginning of the campaign when he challenged the heroism of Mr. McCain, a prisoner of war in Vietnam, and branded Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals. Many of his supporters have been drawn to his tendency to say the politically unthinkable. The question is whether this, finally, is a step too far.
For the second time in a week, Mr. Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, issued a statement that appeared designed to put some space between the two men. The father of a Marine, Pence said on Sunday he and Trump believe Capt. Khan is a hero and his family “should be cherished by every American.”
Last week, Mr. Pence said Russia would face “serious consequences” for meddling in U.S. elections at roughly the same time Mr. Trump appeared to encourage it.
