VIDEO: Khizr Khan calls upon Trump to avoid discrimination, respect constitution
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan24) - The US President-elect Donald Trump should respect the constitutional values of the US which emphasize that no citizen should be discriminated against based on religion or ethnicity, said Khizr Khan.
The Pakistani Muslim father of an Army captain killed in Iraq, Khizr Khan told Kurdistan24 that, "We have respect for the office of the Presidency. I hope he will maintain and he will earn our respect and the respect of most Americans."
Khan called on Trump to follow the constitution and the values that are enshrined in the constitution. "The values of no discrimination based on religion, no discrimination against the people based on their ethnicity, their color, and where they have come from."
The Gold Star father gained the attention of many Americans after an impassioned speech at July's Democratic National Convention, in which he spoke to the memory of his son, the late Army Capt. Humayun Khan.
In response to his criticisms Trump stereotyped the Muslim family as women-subjugators by saying, “If you look at his wife, she was standing there.”
“She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say. You tell me,” Trump said.
President-elect also suggested that Khan's speech was written by Clinton's speech writers.
Khan denied connections with the Democratic Party and said, "We have no connection with the Democratic Party. They invited me because of the tribute they wanted to pay to my son. They did not tell me what to say. Those words were my own."
Khan claimed that he wrote six pages of speech but had to shorten it to a large extent as he was given only two minutes to talk.
He also talked about the Kurds and said, "I wish them well. I wish them safety, I wish them success. Because in the world, you can only move forward with peace and harmony, with love toward one the another."
Editing by Ava Homa
(Rahim Rashidi conducted the interview in Washington DC.)