In a state that is home to the world’s largest naval base and one of the nation’s largest veteran populations, military voters and their families hold sway in Virginia politics. Trump’s unusual foray into a fight with a grieving military family prompted repudiation from military groups. Both the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called out Trump on Monday.
But Trump’s Virginia campaign chairman, Corey A. Stewart, who is also seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination, said Trump’s words were misconstrued by Democrats exploiting the family for political gain.
“The Democrats have really, in a very disgraceful way, tried to put this poor grieving family in the middle of a nasty political situation,” said Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors.Like Gillespie, another Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate, U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, praised Khan but did not directly criticize Trump in response to questions from The Washington Post.
“Our military men and women and their families answer a calling that is higher than politics, and we must honor that by condemning attempts to politicize and especially to criticize sacrifices military families make,” Wittman said in a statement.
At some point, Stewart, Gillespie and Wittman are going to have to find their respective moral compasses and simply denounce Donald Trump’s behavior toward the Khan family.
No Corey, no one misconstrued anything. We all heard what he said with our own two ears. When criticized, Trump failed to take the opportunity to walk back his hatefulness. Instead, he doubled down and made things worse.
Don’t blame Democrats. That just sounds stupid. Democrats and Republicans alike find Trump’s behavior simply unacceptable under any circumstances.
I call on all Virginia Republicans to denounce this narcissistic megalomaniac and insist that he start behaving like a civilized adult rather than someone totally lacking adult social skills. Responsible leaders think before they speak. If they insult someone, they fix it. Trump is unwilling to assume responsibility for his boorish behavior.
You will be held accountable. This issue will not go away.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
—Edmund Burke
