By Mitch McAndrew
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump faces backlash from prominent Iowa Republicans about his response to Khizr Khan’s July 28 speech at the Democratic National Convention.
Iowa’s two Republican senators, Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley, who have supported Trump in the past, distanced themselves from the GOP presidential candidate because of the businessman’s comments on Monday.
In a pair of issued statements, Ernst and Grassley praised Khan, the father of Army Capt. Humayun Khan, who was killed in Iraq in 2004 and posthumously awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart for his service.
“Mr. Trump’s comments are not in line with my own beliefs about how the members of the military and their families should be treated, and respect for the people who serve our country is something both presidential campaigns could use more of,” Grassley said in the statement.
Grassley also said he was proud to be “friends with a family of Muslim faith from Cedar Falls” whose son is an officer in the U.S. armed forces.
Ernst, an Iraq war veteran, also commended Humayun Khan and his family for their sacrifice, but she did not specifically address Trump’s comments.
“We as a nation are incredibly grateful to Capt. Khan’s service and ultimate sacrifice — as well as the sacrifices of his parents — to keep us safe and free. We must always honor our veterans, and their families; many have endured far more than we can ever imagine, and we must always remember to express our gratitude,” Ernst’s statement said.
“I just think that anyone that has died in the service of our country is a hero. And I think that was a mistake,” Gov. Terry Branstad told the Des Moines Register on Monday. “I believe the focus needs to be on the differences that he has with Hillary Clinton in terms of policies.”
Branstad and Ernst spoke at Trump’s July 28 rallies in Cedar Rapids and Davenport, and Branstad said in Cedar Rapids that he planned on stumping for Trump “as much as possible” in the months running up to Election Day, Nov. 8.
Trump responded in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos by contending that his “sacrifices” included creating “tens of thousands” of jobs and building “great structures.”
He also suggested that Khizr Khan had forbidden his wife to speak during his speech.
“She probably, maybe, she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say,” he said.
In an op-ed for the Washington Post, Ghazala Khan wrote that her husband asked her to speak at the convention, but it was too emotionally distressing for her.
“Walking onto the convention stage, with a huge picture of my son behind me, I could hardly control myself. What mother could?” she wrote.
Facing widespread criticism over his comments, Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to try to defend himself by going after Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s Iraq War vote and the media.
The Republican Party of Iowa did not respond to a request for comment.
In a emotionally charged convention speech delivered with his wife, Ghazala, by his side, Khan berated Trump for the GOP nominee’s proposed ban on Muslim immigration and accused him of sacrificing “nothing and no one” for the United States.