Election 2016 Islamophobia

Trump Advisers Say Khizr Khan is a Treacherous Agent

I had a brief moment of debate with myself over whether or not I should post this because it's so predictable, but while it may be entirely predictable, we can't afford to let it become normal.

Right on cue as if they were reading from a script, Team Trump has pulled out all the stops to attack Khizr Khan, the father of a fallen Army captain who offered Donald Trump a copy of the Constitution.

Longtime Trump advisers Roger Stone and New Hampshire state Rep. Al Baldaraso have accused Khan of being a secret agent in cahoots with the Muslim Brotherhood.

The adviser, Al Baldasaro, tweeted a link to an article from Shoebat.com, a fringe anti-Islam conspiracy website. The article also suggests (without any evidence) that Humayun Khan, who was awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze, was a jihadist who joined the military to kill Americans. [...]

The article was also promoted by Roger Stone, one of Trump’s oldest and most influential advisers. Stone left the campaign in 2015 but is still in regular contact with Trump, providing political advice.

For his part, Roger Stone has gone much, much further.

Stone appeared on hate radio this morning where he claimed Khizr Khan spoke at the Democratic convention because he wants to promote Sharia Law.

STONE: Mr. Khan is being used to attack Donald Trump, but his son’s tragic death is being used as a shield. If you look at Mr. Khan’s background, he is an advocate for Sharia. Sharia Law oppresses women, oppresses gays, kills Christians. This is a violent, oppressive ideology, which Mr. Khan very clearly shares. He is tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. He is tied to the same sect of the Muslim Brotherhood as [Clinton aide] Huma Abedin. I’m suggesting that he has an agenda. And Trump is absolutely right when he points out the mother had little to say while the father is an advocate of Sharia, the law under which women have little to say. So Trump is actually correct here

During his speech at the convention, Khan explicitly denounced Trump for attacking people of all faiths and genders.

The nonpartisan Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) released a statement today condemning Trump for attacking a Gold Star family.

WASHINGTON — Presidential candidate Donald J. Trump has a history of lashing out after being attacked, but to ridicule a Gold Star Mother is out-of-bounds, said the new national commander of the near 1.7 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States and its Auxiliary.

“Election year or not, the VFW will not tolerate anyone berating a Gold Star family member for exercising his or her right of speech or expression,” said Brian Duffy, of Louisville, Ky., who was elected July 27 to lead the nation’s oldest and largest major war veterans organization.

“There are certain sacrosanct subjects that no amount of wordsmithing can repair once crossed,” he said. “Giving one’s life to nation is the greatest sacrifice, followed closely by all Gold Star families, who have a right to make their voices heard.”

To my knowledge, the VFW has never been forced to condemn a presidential campaign for attacking a veteran's family before today.