Gold Star Families Demand Apology From Trump

Several families of soldiers who died in one of the U.S.’s recent wars abroad demanded an apology from Republican nominee Donald Trump for questioning why a grieving mother did not speak while on stage at the 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 said, according to CNBC.

The letter was organized by VoteVets.org, a pro-Democrat group that is supported “largely by social welfare organizations aligned with Democrats and millions of dollars given by unions.”

Khazir Khan, the father of an American soldier killed in 2004 during the U.S. invasion of Iraq, denounced Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims during a speech at the Democratic National Convention.

As Khazir Khan gave his speech, his wife, Ghazala Khan, stood by his side. But Trump seemed not to appreciate her silence.

“I saw him,” Trump said about Khazir Khan’s speech, according to the Washington Post. “He was very emotional and probably looked like a nice guy to me. His wife … if you look at his wife, she was standing there. She had nothing to say.”

Trump continued: “She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say. You tell me. But a plenty of people have written that. She was extremely quiet, and it looked like she had nothing to say. A lot of people have said that.”

Trump’s reaction didn’t jibe with 11 families who have experienced similar pain to what the Khans feel, which led to the letter.

And in her own words, Ghazala Khan responded to Trump’s questioning of her silence.

“Donald Trump said that maybe I wasn’t allowed to say anything. That is not true,” Ghazala Khan wrote in the Washington Post. “My husband asked me if I wanted to speak, but I told him I could not. My religion teaches me that all human beings are equal in God’s eyes. Husband and wife are part of each other; you should love and respect each other so you can take care of the family.”

Sources: CNBC, The Washington Post (2) / Photo Credit: Michael Vadon/Flickr