--- title: Donald Trump and Khizr Khan in Growing War of Words description: Donald Trump limped into August with his campaign under fire amid his escalating feud with the family of a fallen Muslim soldier canonical: https://time.com/4432816/donald-trump-khizr-ghazala-khan/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-01T13:05:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:42:14.654Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Under Fire Amid Feud With Fallen Muslim Soldier's Family og:description: Ghazala Khan also shared a touching story of the last conversation she had with her son on Mother’s Day og:url: https://time.com/4432816/donald-trump-khizr-ghazala-khan/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfce99d312fad7977/6988a09e2dce0167609ea22f/donald-trump-khan-feud.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5243 og:image:height: 2949 og:image:alt: Donald Trump og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Under Fire Amid Feud With Fallen Muslim Soldier's Family twitter:description: Ghazala Khan also shared a touching story of the last conversation she had with her son on Mother’s Day twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfce99d312fad7977/6988a09e2dce0167609ea22f/donald-trump-khan-feud.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump's Campaign Under Fire Amid Feud With Fallen Muslim Soldier's Family > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f8c1e7d1-8782-48e0-94f1-38677aa3a10d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Khan Family Full Interview [Watch (HLS stream): Khan Family Full Interview](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/rhxZqQZs.m3u8) (19:04)  _Published 2016-08-01. Donald Trump limped into August with his campaign under fire from both Democrats and Republicans appalled by his escalating feud with the family of a fallen Muslim soldier, whose parents intensified their criticism of Trump on Monday_  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Aug 1, 2016 1:05 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver on July 29, 2016. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver on July 29, 2016. Evan Vucci—AP  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Aug 1, 2016 1:05 PM UTC Donald Trump [limped into August](http://time.com/4432773/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-polls-cbs/) with his campaign under fire from both Democrats and Republicans appalled by [his escalating feud with the family of a fallen Muslim soldier](http://time.com/4432219/donald-trump-father-soldier-khizr-khan/), whose parents [intensified their criticism of Trump on Monday](http://www.today.com/video/khizir-khan-father-of-slain-soldier-condemns-donald-trump-s-ignorance-735827523597) amid statements of support from GOP leaders. Khizr Khan and his wife Ghazala, whose son was a captain in the U.S. Army when he died serving in Iraq in 2004, have found themselves at the center of the presidential campaign ever since Khizr Khan spoke out against Trump during [an emotional speech](http://time.com/4429891/dnc-khizr-khan-donald-trump-constitution/) last week at the Democratic National Convention. “This candidate amazes me,” Khizr Khan said Monday on [the _Today_ show](http://www.today.com/video/khizir-khan-father-of-slain-soldier-condemns-donald-trump-s-ignorance-735827523597). “His ignorance. He can get up and malign the entire nation.” The father, who has criticized Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S., renewed his call on Monday for Republican leaders to rebuke Trump and for American voters not to put him in office. “This candidate is void of empathy, so I will continue to reach out to Republican voters to refrain from voting for this candidate,” he said. “He needs to mend his way.” Trump has struggled to put the controversy behind him, alternatively lashing out against the Khans, calling their son a “hero,” saying the issue he wants to discuss is terrorism, and criticizing the media for its coverage of his latest high-profile feud. “This story is not about Mr. Khan, who is all over the place doing interviews, but rather RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM and the U.S.,” Trump said Monday morning on Twitter. “Get smart!” “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 – Nice!,” Trump said in an earlier tweet. Republican leaders like House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have issued statements of support for the Khans, but have not wavered in backing their party’s nominee. Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, a military veteran and former prisoner of war who Trump dismissed earlier in the campaign as only being a hero because he was captured, said in a statement Monday that “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,” McCain said, “it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us. “Lastly, I’d like to say to Mr. and Mrs. Khan: thank you for immigrating to America,” McCain added. “We’re a better country because of you. 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.” Khizr Khan, speaking on CNN, said Trump’s reaction to his convention speech is “proof of his ignorance and arrogance.” He told the Washington _Post_ late Saturday that Trump’s response was “typical of a person without a soul.” The back-and-forth between the parents and Trump has dominated the campaign. It led nearly a dozen families of fallen soldiers on Monday to [demand an apology](http://time.com/4432779/donald-trump-gold-star-muslim-soldier-2/) from Trump for his “repugnant remarks,” accusing the billionaire of “cheapening the sacrifice” of their deceased relatives in the way he responded to the parents of Captain Humayun S.M. Khan. Khizr Khan told CNN on Monday that he and his wife “want to be out of this controversy.” “That is not our style. … This is not our path,” he said, adding that “there was no need” for Trump to comment further. “We want to maintain our dignity,” Khizr Khan added. Meanwhile, Ghazala Khan [shared a touching story](https://twitter.com/CNNPolitics/status/760074467989225472) of the last conversation she had with her son on Mother’s Day in May 2004 before he was killed after a vehicle packed with IEDs exploded near him. The nervous mother said she pleaded with her son to be safe and reminded him that he only had a short time left before he was set to return home when he called her. “As a mother, I said please, Humayun, don’t be \[a\] hero. Just stay back and finish your time,” she said on CNN. “You will be home soon. Please just stay back.” “He laughed and said, ‘Mom, you know these soldiers are my responsibility. I don’t want anything to happen to them because I am responsible. I have to do my job. I am responsible for my soldiers,” Ghazala Khan recalled. “And he came back, but he came back as a hero.” ## Transcript Khan and Ghazala Khan, the parents of fallen American Muslim soldier Humayun Khan who was killed in 2004. Thank you so much for being with us. I really appreciate it. Khizr let me ask you first since you spoke Thursday night, did you ever imagine four days later you would be in the middle of this campaign controversy. What did you think was going to happen? Thank you, John. No, I did not. Neither my family. We're a private people. We participated in this convention because a tribute was being paid. And there was context to my conversation was that we had been patiently been subjected to The maligning of this candidate for a whole year. Enough is enough. Every decent Republican has said, I apologize if I am little emotional about this. Every decent Republican has rebuked his behavior, yet, nobody had stood up and said, enough, stop it. You will not be our candidate. In private they have done this. We are aware that in private they have done this. Speaker Paul Ryan, senate majority leader, other senior republican leaders have done that but this candidate Maligning of decent patriotic Republican has continued the leadership. Look what he did, and how he spoke about Mitt Romney. Look what he did, how he spoke with Senator McCain. This is a consistent, this is a proof of his ignorance and arrogance And I again and again ask his advisors to get him in a room, close the door and set him right if he needs, if he wants to be the candidate of this wonderful Republican party, Republican and Democratic party, both are as patriotic as anywhere and anyone. Therefore, I am amazed to add to love and care that we have receive that we continue to receive and we will continue to speak up until this candidate behaves and a dignified manner deserving of the candidacy of this office . >> Mr Khan, US called him ignorant and arrogant And in fact, Donald Trump said you attacked him at the Democratic Convention. In a tweet, he said, I was viciously attacked by Mr. Khan at the Democratic Convention. Am I not allowed to respond? So- Bear with me. Go ahead. That is again, that is again his ignorance of the First Amendment I have exactly same rights as he does. He had been Abusing the suspecting women, judges, all decent Americans he had been so abusive of them. I exercise exactly same rights. That again proves his ignorance. He wants to have One set of rights for himself, and he wants to have another set of rights for others. No. Somebody should tell him that there is equal dignity, equal protection of law in this country. That is why that constitution came to play. I keep that in my pocket. Because I cherish this document. I wish somebody would read it to him. Certain fundamental values that enshrine in this document. His supporters now say, though, since you've talked about this, since you have exercised your first amendment rights, You are now fair game. It is now fair game for Donald Trump to talk about you, and his supporters to talk about you. You spoke at the Democratic Convention which is a political platform. They have been exercising their rights, so there is nothing new to that. We are private Citizens. We are private people. We want to be out of this controversy. My good wife [ UNKNOWN ] had been insisting that I not to respond, I take a more dignified path than responding to Undignified attacks and comments, therefore we jointly decided that there is no need to escalate this. We have made the point. The amount of recognition, the amount of love, support, care, street corners. Any place we go to, people come and they say, you have spoken what we wanted to say. I have my email box full of messages from prominent Republicans that are saying that this year no Republican presidential vote. So we want to be out of this controversy. We don't want to continue. That is not our style. We are decent, dignified family of this country, very appreciative of the blessings that we have enjoyed, we continue to enjoy, and we want to remain that way. This is not our path. Mrs. Khan, I wanna talk to you because Donald Trump specifically Questioned you, and questioned your silence at the Democratic convention, last Thursday. I want to play you the sound, undoubtedly you've heard it by now, of what he had to say about your choice not to speak on Thursday. Let's listen. [ SOUND ] His wife, if you look at his wife, she was standing there, she had nothing to say. Probably, maybe she wasn't allowed to have anything to say. You tell me. But plenty of people have written that. She was extremely quiet and looked like she had nothing to say. A lot of people have said that. Mrs. Khan, I would like to give you a chance to respond to that right now. Actually, I have already responded. In my statement that I think it is published in Washington Post, but still I can say that my religion, or my family, or my culture never stopped me saying what ever I want to say. And my husband is very supportive of me in these things that I have all the rights, as a wife, as a mother, as a daughter. I have done very well saying my mind out, but that time was different. And anybody can see that hard different, that time was when I was standing there in front of America. Without saying a word, I had lots of love I touched lots of heart. So I'm thankful for everything that America has given me, everything that I had got from America, the most of it, the love and the respect. I'm so happy to be saying that I'm a Muslim woman. And Muslim women have all the right in the world. In eyes of God we are equal to our husbands, we are equal and we are number one in the household, in my family, in my culture, in my community. I'm very glad that I have been in this country, and I got all the happiness, and that comes from Humayun. Yeah, somebody have to price for this freedom that we have Thank you America. As a gold star mother, is there a message you wanna send right now to the country about what you're feeling four days into this discussion? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] I'm really very happy for the things that I got from America, and from all over the world My respect, me love has gone. A lot that I was expecting but always wherever I go I don't know people hug me, people love me. Not right now but where all these 12 years. I had America's respect that's why I thought I should go with my husband Stand there and tell them how a Muslim feels in this country. We feel really protected. We feel very happy and our futures, our children are in a safe place. Mr. Khan, Donald Trump is apparently watching. Right now. On Twitter, he just said, Mr. Kahn, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC. And is now all over TV doing the same. Nice, he said. Given that you know he is watching now, is there a message you would like to send to him about this discussion? I really want to maintain mine and my family's dignity. I spoke what was appropriate and if he is watching, just imagine, there was no need to comment the way he commented. That Initiated this conversation. I again say, we want to maintain our dignity. We want to maintain my family's dignity, my son's dignity and sacrifice. And he should listen to America, what America and the world is telling About the remarks, about the lack of empathy. And that's all I wish to convey to him, that a good leader has one trait, earlier I said empathy. I probably right now will misspell it, but it is basic character realizing, feeling the pains, the difficulties of the people that you wish to lead. And that is missing. Donald Trump needs to sit with his advisors and portray to this world that he is empathetic. You solve the problems with empathy, putting people together. There are bad people among us, but there are good people among us as well. You gather good people to get rid of bad people, but you do not malign the whole religion, the whole culture. We are the solution to the dealing with the terrorism in the United States. Joined hands with good Muslims. Only war is not the solution. It is one of the solutions. Communities coming together is the solution. We are as concerned as Donald Trump is about the safety of this country. We are testimony to the goodness of this country. We need to stop fighting with one another. But we need a leader that will unite us, not disrespect, not by derogatory remarks. I feel bad about the discourse that this campaign, this election campaign as taken. We need to join hands we have a very serious problem for the safety of the citizens of this country. We are solution look the treatment of Muslim's in France in other places there is much worse security issues than United States does. Mr. Kahn? Yes. Mr. Khan, Mike Pence, Donald Trump's running mate, who has a son in the Marines, he put out a statement overnight where he honored your loss and the sacrifice of your son, and that your family has made, and then he also talked about policy a little bit. This is Mike Pence, Governor of Indiana, he said by suspending immigration from countries that have been compromised by terrorism We will reduce the likelihood that other American families will face the enduring heartbreak of the Khan family. Mike Pence there talking about policy where apparently what is now the Trump campaign policy. Where they want to suspend immigration from countries Where there are terrorist issues. I'm wondering if you have a response or a comment on what Governor Pence said. I appreciate the statement that Governor Pence issued. We are very heartened by his remarks about our family. We are grateful for that As far as the policy and tightening the policy, that is what we need. We already have those measures in place. Can we make them better? Of course we can make them better, because with the hands of these criminals We have all suffered, and we strengthen hands of our leaders to find the solution. Are there better solution? Of course there are better solutions. Let's go and implement them. Let's make those policies and implement them. But let's not Create, strengthen the hands of enemies by these remarks, by these statements. Believe me, these statements strengthen the recruitment process. The young men and women that are disheartened because of the discourse of these campaigns Begin to look to those solutions by joining, let's create an environment and policy. I agree with Governor Pence that that will be a wonderful idea to strengthen our security policies, I don't disagree with that. Mr. Kahn, part of this discussion that's been going on four four days, which is so remarkable, is it has to do with your son, Captain Humayun Kahn, who died now 12 years ago. He, in some ways, is overshadowing this entire discussion, yet he's hardly discussed. I'm wondering if you could just tell us about your son. He was a wonderful patriotic Deliberate person. The cadets of his school come to our home to pay tribute to him every year. We invite them to our home for a particular purpose. We give them a copy of the same constitution that I have. I have a stack of it at home. There is a reason behind that. And that reason is for people to know when they step, they comment, they say wow, this is first time we have stepped in a Muslim home. This looks like our home. This looks like our parents home. And thank you for giving us a copy of the Constitution. In a school we have read it, We will cherish to read it because we are taking oath tomorrow to this constitution. It will be wonderful to have. There are messages in here that we are all same regardless of our religions, unite us not divide us. Our cultures that follow these religions unite us, there is peace in harmony in these religions. And Captain Humayun laid the path for that. He, I will give you one simple example of his character, how he was. At University of Virginia in the basketball court there were two teams used to play African American students and white American students always playing separately, not playing together, not talking to one another, he was the one that one step at a time he will drag one play to here and one player from there and Bring them together, and in few weeks the whole team was playing together, we received a delegation of those students after passing, and they said, for all of our life he taught us how to come together, that is what he was, that is who he was. And to him we pay tribute by the small gesture of trying to bring some peace in this political discourse, trying to bring some respect towards each other. That is what he was that is dedicated to his spirit. Mrs Karna I know it's difficult to speak of your son even 12 years later but I wanna give you an opportunity to share. With the country, your thoughts on Captain Khan? One memory, one thing you want us all to know about him. One memory that I was just thinking about. I went to Fort Knox, he was stationed there, and it was Christmas. And he took us to his Sergent's house. He said Sergent have invited me and then we passed a Colonel's Awl house. There was lots of people there. I said, Colonel haven't invited you? I said, no he did. And everybody's going to his house, but nobody's going to sergeant house. I don't want to break his heart. So instead of going to colonel's house and enjoying everything, he went to To his sergeant's family, and we had a very nice time with that family. Mrs. Khan probably would like to tell the last conversation on Mother's Day that you had with Humayun, please tell that. On Mother's Day, in May, 2004, When he called, he talked to me. As a mother I said, please, Humayun, don't be hero, just stay back, and just finish your time, just for three- fourths of the year is left, so you will be home soon. And please just stay back. He laughed and said mom, you know These soldiers are my responsibility. I don't want anything to happen to them because I'm responsible. I have to do my job. I'm responsible for my soldiers. 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