CNN host Brian Stelter grilled Jason Miller, Donald Trump’s senior communications advisor, on Sunday about the GOP nominee’s repeated attacks on Khizr and Ghazala Khan.
After attacking the Khans, the bereaved parents of a Muslim U.S. Army captain who spoke at the Democratic National Convention last week, the Trump campaign released a statement on Saturday from the candidate saying that “while I feel deeply for the loss of his son, Mr. Khan who has never met me, has no right to stand in front of millions of people and claim I have never read the Constitution, (which is false) and say many other inaccurate things.”
“Why is Donald Trump continuing to respond to Mr. Khan,” Stelter asked Miller, “rather than either staying quiet, allowing Mr. Khan to speak without being challenged or to acknowledge more forthrightly the pain this family is going through?”
“Mr. Trump has praised Mr. Khan and in fact has called Captain Khan a hero,” Miller responded. “But again, Brian, let’s get back to what’s going on here. The fact is that this is about radical Islamic terrorism and what we have to do as a country to make sure that our borders are safe.”
“That’s not what Mr. Khan’s speech was about on Thursday,” Stelter said, going on to review Trump’s comments. “The First Amendment to the Constitution allows Mr. Khan the right to stand on stage and say whatever he wants. Why would Mr. Trump say he doesn’t have that right?”
“That’s not what Mr. Trump is saying at all,” Miller replied before changing the subject as Stelter pressed him on the issue. “This is about radical Islamic terrorism, and this is about what’s really going on here, and the fact that the media doesn’t want to pick up and cover what’s going on with this country.”
“You keep bringing up radical Islamic terrorism,” Stelter said. “Are you trying to change the subject, or are you trying to link him to terrorism?”
“No, not at all,” Miller said, changing the subject again. “Mr. Trump’s opponent is Hillary Clinton, and that’s who we’re running against here.”
Trump continued to attack the Khan family on Twitter as they gave an interview Monday morning on CNN.
Trump has faced bipartisan backlash for his comments, including from Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), and other Republican officials have distanced themselves from his remarks. The families of 17 service members killed in the line of duty have also demanded that Trump apologize, while the Veterans of Foreign Wars condemned his attacks on the Khan family.
Watch below via Media Matters:
