Khizr Khan speaks to Al Jazeera about Trump and Republicans

• Refers to Speaker of the House  Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell as “cowards in the moral sense” for failing to withdraw their endorsements of Trump
• But predicts that top Republicans will eventually withdraw their endorsement for Trump: “It is coming. I assure you”
• Ramps up his critique of Trump saying “Americans are not going to buy the snake oil he is selling” and that he is “incapable intellectually and mentally” of understanding how he is helping boost ISIL
• Says he was opposed to the Iraq war in which his son died: “That was a mistake that has not served American interests well”
• Responds to ISIL, who called his son an “apostate”, calling them a “perverted version of Islam

(Washington DC – 2nd August, 2016) – In an interview with Al Jazeera English’s current affairs show, ‘UpFront’, Khizr Khan called out Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for failing to withdraw their endorsement for Donald Trump.

“They are being cowards in a moral sense,” Khan told ‘UpFront’ host Mehdi Hasan.

Asked by Hasan if top Republicans would eventually withdraw their endorsement for Trump, Khan answered, “It is coming. I assure you”.

“The moral dilemma in his candidacy is coming full circle,” he added.  

Khan, whose son was killed in Iraq in 2004, spoke on the closing night of the Democratic National Convention. His remarks, especially those criticizing Donald Trump, went viral. On ‘UpFront’ he ramped up his attack on Donald

Trump saying “Americans are not going to buy the snake oil he is selling”.

Khan also said that Trump is “incapable intellectually and mentally” of understanding how he has helped boost ISIL’s recruitment with his “fear-mongering” narrative.

During the interview, Khizr Khan revealed that he had been opposed to the Iraq invasion in 2003 - his son was killed in action in Iraq the following year. 

“That was a mistake that has not served American interests well,” he said.

“[Clinton] supported it, but it was the Republican party’s starting and doing of the Iraq war,” he added. “If I criticize Hillary Clinton on her policies, it is received well. The person who criticizes is not condemned”.

Khan was also asked to respond to ISIL who recently called his late son an “apostate”.

“That is a perverted version of Islam,” he said. “Islam has nothing to do with this kind of violence”.

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