Father of fallen Muslim American soldier blasts Trump at convention
Pakistan-born Khizr Khan says if it were up to GOP nominee, his son Humayun never would have been in US, but Clinton called him ‘the best of America’
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The father of a Muslim American soldier killed in Iraq posed a question to Donald Trump: Have you read the Constitution?
To rapturous cheers, Pakistan-born Khizr Khan fiercely attacked the billionaire businessman Thursday at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, saying that if it was up to Trump, his son never would have been American or served in the military.
Standing next to his wife, Khan said that Hillary Clinton, by contrast, “called my son the best of America.”
The address was the latest effort by Democrats to highlight their diversity and criticize Trump’s most contentious plans. Beyond his proposed wall across Mexico, the billionaire businessman has threatened to ban Muslims from entering the United States if he becomes president.
Capt. Humayun Khan died in 2004 when a car loaded with explosives blew up at his compound. He was 27.
Honoring his son, Khizr Khan pulled a copy of the Constitution out of his suit pocket and offered to lend it to Trump.
“Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims. He disrespects other minorities, women, judges, even his own party leadership. He vows to build walls and ban us form this country,” Khan said.
“Donald Trump, you’re asking Americans to trust you with their future, let me ask you: Have you even read the United States constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy,” he continued to fierce applause.
“Look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of law,'” he said, waving the paperback document vigorously.
“Have you ever been to Arlington cemetery?” Khan asked. “Go look at the graves of brave Americans who died defending United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing.”
Khan, who moved to the US in 1980, said he and his wife were “patriotic American Muslims with undivided loyalty to our country.”
“Like many immigrants, we came to this country empty handed,” he said, believing that with hard work he could raise his three sons “in a nation where they were free to be themselves and follow their dreams.”
He urged Muslims, immigrants and all patriots to “to not take this election lightly.”
“Vote for the healer,” Khan said, “not the divider.”
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press.
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