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Khan Family Reacts to Donald Trump’s Latest Comment About Late Son at Debate

Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of Humayun Kahn — a Muslim American soldier who died in 2004 at age 27 while serving in Iraq — have responded to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s latest comments about their late son.

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As viewers witnessed during the second presidential debate on Sunday, October 9, Trump, 70, said that if he were president in 2004, Humayun would still be living because he claimed he “was against the war in Iraq” from the start — an assertion that has been debunked by several national newspapers including The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times. (In multiple early-2000s interviews with outlets such as Esquire and The Howard Stern Show, he suggested that he supported the American invasion of Iraq.)

Khzir Khan
Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post via Getty Images Khzir Khan, the father of fallen soldier Humayun Kahn, addresses the crowd during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on Thursday, July 28, 2016.

“If I were president at this time, he would be alive today because unlike [Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton], who voted for the war without knowing what she was doing, I would not have had our people in Iraq,” Trump said during the debate, referring to the slain soldier who lost his life attempting to stop a suicide bomber from attacking his fellow troops. “So he would have been alive today.”

Donald Trump
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri on October 9, 2016. TASOS KATOPODIS/AFP/Getty Images

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In response, the Khans issued a statement to NBC News on Monday, October 10.

“We know that our son, Captain Humayun Khan, is an American hero. We also know that Donald Trump is not telling the truth when he says he was against the Iraq war,” the statement reads. “Our son served this country with honor and distinction, and gave the ultimate sacrifice. The only thing that Donald Trump sacrifices is the truth.”

As previously reported, Khizr and Ghazala made a memorable appearance at the Democratic National Convention back in July, where they questioned the business mogul turned politician’s values, particularly his comments about Muslim Americans.

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“Donald Trump, you are asking Americans to trust you with our future. Let me ask you: Have you even read the U.S. Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy. In this document, look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of law,’” Khizr said of Trump (who previously called for a ban of all Muslims entering the United States). “Have you ever been to Arlington Cemetery? Go look at the graves of the brave patriots who died defending America — you will see all faiths, genders, and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one.”

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Shortly after the Khans spoke out against Trump this summer, the ex–Celebrity Apprentice host responded by telling ABC News, “I think I’ve made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard.”

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