Opinion Donald trumped

Donald Trump has blustered his way to the Republican primaries, clinching the nomination. Throughout his campaign, he has transgressed the boundaries of civil public discourse with his statements against Mexican immigrants to the US, Muslims and women. So far, it seemed that these attacks, rather than diminishing his popularity, only strengthened him. However, by attacking the parents of Humayun Khan, a US army captain who was killed in Iraq and awarded the Purple Heart, Trump may have created a political storm he will find difficult to bluster his way out of.

Khizr Khan, Humayun’s father, immigrated to the US from Pakistan. Speaking in support for Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention, he attacked Trump for asking that the US put a temporary ban on Muslims entering the country. Trump responded by insinuating that Ghazala Khan, Humayun’s mother, “was not allowed to speak”. Since then, Ghazala has responded, saying that she did not speak about her son because of the emotional toll it would take and that Trump was “ignorant about Islam”. None of this stopped Trump from tweeting against the couple while they were being interviewed by CNN. The attack on the family of a soldier killed in action has not gone down well. Members of his own party, led by Senator John McCain, have joined Democrats in denouncing Trump’s statement. Organisations representing veterans of the US armed forces have joined the chorus against Trump.

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The vitriol Trump has spewed against senior leaders of his own party, like John McCain and Ted Cruz, makes it unlikely that they will form a united front behind him now. And given his persona, Trump is unlikely to apologise for his statements. He might hope that he can use anti-Muslim sentiment among voters to talk his way out of this blunder. Of course, that means pitting bigotry against a sense of national pride and patriotism — a battle Hillary would love to win.