Morning Jumpstart
- Khizr Khan: Trump “black soul”
- Trump: Khan controlled by Clinton campaign
- Politicians appalled by Trump
- Trump wrong on Ukraine, debates
- Clinton: Russian intel hacked DNC
- Obama addresses veterans today
- Hot air balloon pilot had DWI
• Khizr Khan, whose son died fighting in Iraq, said Sunday that GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s temperament and lack of empathy render him unfit to lead the nation and that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis) have a moral obligation to speak out against their party’s standard bearer (they do but…)
• “Two things are absolutely necessary in any leader or any person that aspires, wishes to be a leader. That is moral compass and, second, is empathy. This candidate is void of both traits that are necessary for the stewardship of this country,” Harvard-educated Khan said on CNN. “He is a black soul. And this is totally unfit for the leadership of this beautiful country.”
• “I implore those patriotic Americans that would probably vote for Donald Trump in November, I appeal to them, not to vote for hatred, not to vote for fear-mongering. Vote for unity. Vote for the goodness of this country. Vote for liberty and freedom. So my appeal now is to the folks that are going to be thinking to vote for Trump,” he said on NBC (prejudice vs unity – hmmm)
• Khan and his wife appeared last week at the Democratic convention, where Khan gave an emotional speech in which he questioned whether Trump had ever read the Constitution and offered to lend him his copy. The Khan’s son, Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq in 2004. Khan said the GOP nominee had “sacrificed nothing and no one”
Trump: Khan Controlled by Clinton Campaign
• Trump lashed out at the Khans, accusing Khizr Khan of being controlled by the Hillary Clinton campaign. Trump pointed to the sacrifices he said he had made creating jobs. “Mr Khan,” Clinton said at a church in Cleveland, “paid the ultimate sacrifice in his family, didn’t he. And what has he heard from Donald Trump? Nothing but insults, degrading comments.”
• Khizr Khan’s wife, Ghazala, didn’t speak on stage. The Khans are Muslim and Trump questioned why she didn’t speak. “She probably – maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say,” he said. (sick – lowest point so far) In a subsequent interview, Ghazala Khan said she didn’t speak because she becomes overwhelmed with emotion whenever she sees her son’s picture
• In a WaPo op-ed Sunday, she responded directly to Trump. “Donald Trump has asked why I did not speak at the Democratic convention. He said he would like to hear from me. Here is my answer to Donald Trump: Because without saying a thing, all the world, all America, felt my pain. I am a Gold Star mother. Whoever saw me felt me in their heart.” (if they have a heart)
• Sunday, Khizr Khan told CNN, “She is ill. She had high blood pressure. People that know her looked at her face, and she said, ‘I may fall off the stage.'” said Khan, his voice quavering with emotion. “And I told her that you have to assemble yourself and stand for the beauty of this tribute that is being paid.” (she broke down before and after she went on stage)
Khan: “I Will Continue to Speak”
• Khan said of McConnell and Ryan: It is their “moral, ethical obligation to not worry about the votes but repudiate him, withdraw the support. If they do not, I will continue to speak, and I am speaking.” (this mamby-pamby “honoring” Humayun Khan business while standing by Trump will not stand. You can’t support a bigot who spews hate and claim to “honor” Khan)
• In a statement Sunday, McConnell said Khan was a hero. “And as long as I have made clear, I agree with the Khans and families across the country that a travel ban on all members of a religion is simply contrary to American values,” he said (but he didn’t mention Trump and neither did Ryan, who in a statement late Sunday said Humayun Khan should be “honored”)
• In a statement Sunday night Trump’s running mate Mike Pence said, “By suspending immigration from countries that have been compromised by terrorism, rebuilding our military, defeating ISIS at its source and projecting strength on the global stage, we will reduce the likelihood that other American families will face the enduring heartbreak of the Khan family (like Khan’s old country?)
• In a clumsy walk-back (gets sooo tiring and lame – these walk-backs) statement late Saturday night, Trump called Humayun Khan a “hero” – aaaand said Khizr Khan had “no right” to question whether he’d read the Constitution (really? no free speech for Muslims?). Trump notably did not apologize to the Khans for his (disgusting) attack on a grieving mother, Ghazala Khan
• In response, Khizr Khan said Sunday, “This is faked empathy.” “What he said originally – that defines him … people are upset with him. He realizes, and his advisers feel, that [his original statement] was a stupid mistake. That proves that this person is void of empathy. He is unfit for the stewardship of this great country.”
• The raw, pure prejudice and bigotry that’s being evinced against the Khans represents a minority – don’t think Trump is the only one who thinks what he says – but this kind of fear-mongering is infectious and it needs to be exposed. The differences between us – as well as our similarities – are what make us great as people, as Americans, as humanity. Let’s hang on to that – vj
Politicians Appalled by Trump (Hill, Hill, NYT, me)
• Sen Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), up for re-election and whose husband is a military veteran, called Capt Khan a “true American hero.” “I am appalled that Donald Trump would disparage them and that he had the gall to compare his own sacrifices to those of a Gold Star family,” she said
• Sen Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said “‘unacceptable’ doesn’t even begin to describe it.” “This is going to a place where we’ve never gone before, to push back against the families of the fallen.” (but he’s only a Muslim)
• Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) said in a statement, “This shouldn’t be hard. Donald Trump is a sexist and racist man who insults Gold Star parents, stokes fear of Muslims and sows hatred of Latinos. He should not be president and Republican leaders have a moral responsibility to say so.” (but they won’t – because what would happen if they did?)
• Former Gov Jeb Bush (R-Fla) tweeted Sunday, “This is so incredibly disrespectful of a family that endured the ultimate sacrifice for our country.”
• Contrast: 2005 – Cindy Sheehan’s son Casey died in Iraq in 2004 and she camped out on the edge of President George W. Bush’s ranch asking for a meeting. Bush said: “Part of my duty as the president is to meet with those who’ve lost a loved one. And so, you know, listen. I sympathize with Mrs Sheehan … She has every right in the world to say what she believes. This is America.”
• Sunday’s New York Post cover: “THE OGLE OFFICE” – “Exclusive photos – You’ve never seen a first lady like this” – with nude pics of then-brunette Melania Trump from a photo shoot she did in New York in 1995 for a now defunct French men’s magazine, Max. Here’s the front page picture – the original
• Donald Trump said on ABC on Sunday: “He’s [Putin] not going into Ukraine, OK, just so you understand. He’s not going to go into Ukraine, all right? You can mark it down. You can put it down. You can take it anywhere you want.” Trump was addressing comments he’s made about Russia’s annexation of Crimea and lifting sanctions subsequently imposed on Russia (stunning)
• “Well, he’s already there, isn’t he?” George Stephanopoulos said to Trump in response, referring to Crimea. “OK, well, he’s there in a certain way. But I’m not there. You have Obama there. And frankly, that whole part of the world is a mess under Obama with all the strength that you’re talking about and all of the power of NATO and all of this.” (belies belief)
• “While Trump hasn’t mastered basic facts about the world, he has mastered Putin’s talking points on Crimea,” said Hillary Clinton senior policy adviser Jake Sullivan in a statement. “This is scary stuff. But it shouldn’t surprise us. This comes on the heels of his tacit invitation to the Russians to invade our NATO allies in Eastern Europe.”
• What does this mean? First, he’s wrong that Putin’s not going in. “He’s there in a certain way” – means Trump doesn’t know what’s going on and is frantically covering for himself. “But I’m not there” – that’s the weirdest, most narcissist statement he’s ever made and nobody is picking up on it. Why would he be there??? “You have Obama there” – umm Obama is not in Crimea… vj