Donald Trump a ‘Disgrace,’ Say Parents of Fallen Muslim Soldier

SILVER SPRING, MD — The Gold Star parents of a Muslim Army captain from Silver Spring killed in Iraq — a couple who called Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump out this summer for his proposed ban of Muslims with the words “you have sacrificed nothing” — called Trump a “disgrace” for invoking their son’s death in Sunday’s town hall debate.

The New York businessman and Democratic rival Hillary Clinton faced off in a contentious debate in St. Louis, Missouri, that saw Trump grilled about a revelation from a 2005 video in which he made remarks about groping women, and then had the candidates branding one another liars.

During a discussion of foreign policy and what each candidate would do about Islamaphobia and continued fighting in the Middle East, Trump said, “I will knock the hell out of ISIS."

Capt. Humayun S. M. Khan, 27, died June 8, 2004, in Baquabah, Iraq, after suicide bombers drove into the gate of his compound. His father and mother, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, denounced Trump this summer at the Democratic national convention and told voters that their family wouldn’t be allowed in a United States under a Trump presidency — and their Muslim son wouldn’t have had the chance to fight for a country that believes in religious freedom.

During Sunday’s debate, Trump said if he were president, Capt. Khan would still be alive, because he would not have sent troops into Iraq.

"Disgraceful comment. It is total no empathy, not only for Capt. Humayun Khan. He died for a purpose," Khizr Khan told NBC News. "For this candidate to say, 'Had I been the president, they would be alive,' is such a disgrace."

The Khans said in a statement that their fallen son is an American hero buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Born to Pakistani immigrants in the United Arab Emirates, Humayun Khan grew up in Silver Spring and graduated from the University of Virginia.

“We also know that Donald Trump is not telling the truth when he says he was against the Iraq war,” the Khans said. “Our son served this country with honor and distinction, and gave the ultimate sacrifice. The only thing that Donald Trump sacrifices is the truth."

SEE ALSO: Father of Fallen Muslim Soldier Tells Trump: 'You Have Sacrificed Nothing'

As patriotic Muslims with undivided loyalty to the U.S., Khan said his family came to the country empty-handed but ready to work hard and contribute to its blessings. He and his wife wanted to raise their three sons in a nation where they were “free to be themselves.”

Khizr Khan spoke for himself and his wife at the DNC in Philadelphia; Ghazala Khan said later she was too emotional about their son to speak in front of a nationwide audience. Trump surmised later that she wasn’t allowed to speak because of their Muslim faith, which the Khans vehemently denounced.

The couple had the convention on its feet in July when Khizr Khan asked Trump rhetorically from the stage: “Let me ask you: Have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy. In this document look for the words ‘liberty’ and ‘equal protection of law,'” Khan said as he pulled a pocket-sized copy of the Constitution from his suit jacket.

He urged Trump to visit Arlington Cemetery, where veterans of every faith, gender and ethnicity are buried.

“You have sacrificed nothing and no one,” Khan said to the GOP presidential nominee.

»Screenshots of Khizr and Ghazala Khan, from DNC video footage; video of Khizr Khan's speech from YouTube