Rebukes for Trump multiply

But he again raps GI’s kin

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks away Monday after speaking to reporters before a town-hall event in Columbus, Ohio. Several Republican politicians denounced Trump’s comments about Khizr Khan’s speech at the Democratic National Convention.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks away Monday after speaking to reporters before a town-hall event in Columbus, Ohio. Several Republican politicians denounced Trump’s comments about Khizr Khan’s speech at the Democratic National Convention.

WASHINGTON -- Angry and anxious, Republican lawmakers and veterans groups hastened to disavow Donald Trump's repeated criticism of a bereaved military family Monday, but the GOP presidential nominee refused to back down.

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AP

Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Tim Kaine of Virgina on Monday addresses the staff of a campaign office in Richmond, Va., during a visit with his wife, Anne Holton (left).


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Trump instead complained anew that he had been "viciously attacked" by the parents of a Muslim U.S. Army captain who was killed in Iraq.

In an emotional appearance at last week's Democratic convention, Khizr Khan criticized Trump for proposing to temporarily freeze the entry of foreign Muslims into the U.S. and accused him of making no sacrifices for his country. The businessman challenged that assertion and implied Ghazala Khan's religion prevented her from speaking at the convention.

"Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the [Democratic National Convention] and is now all over T.V. doing the same," Trump tweeted Monday, tweeting minutes later that "radical Islamic terrorism," not Khizr Khan, should be the focus of his exchange.

Asked Monday on MSNBC if Trump should apologize, Ghazala Khan said, "I don't want to hear anything from him and I don't want to say anything to him."

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who was taken prisoner during the Vietnam War, led the charge against Trump's rhetoric, saying Trump did not have "unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us."

"He has suggested that the likes of their son should not be allowed in the United States -- to say nothing of entering its service," McCain, who has tangled with Trump before, most notably after Trump said last year that McCain was not a war hero because he had been "captured," said in a statement. "I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trump's statement. I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers, or candidates."

The Veterans of Foreign Wars, the nation's oldest and largest veterans organization, called Trump out of bounds for tangling with the Khans, whose son was killed in 2004.

"Election year or not, the [Veterans of Foreign Wars] will not tolerate anyone berating a Gold Star family member for exercising his or her right of speech or expression," Veterans of Foreign Wars leader Brian Duffy said.

President Barack Obama, a Democrat, chimed in, too, addressing the Disabled American Veterans in Atlanta. He said of families who have lost family members in the military service: "No one has given more to our freedom and our security than our Gold Star families. ... They represent the very best of our country."

A growing chorus of GOP lawmakers chastised Trump for sparring with the Khans, who appeared at the Democratic convention on behalf of nominee Hillary Clinton. But like McCain, none revoked his support of the GOP nominee in the White House campaign.

For some of Trump's allies, the dispute is just the latest example of a troubling pattern: the businessman hitting back at perceived slights or insults, regardless of the political implications. He has stunned rivals with his ability to survive self-created controversies during the GOP primaries but faces a broader set of voters in the general election.

Indeed, some Republicans said privately that it was the timing of this flare-up that had them on edge -- the spectacle of their candidate tangling with a military family just three months before Election Day.

McCain was among several lawmakers -- many facing re-election this fall -- who distanced themselves from Trump's comments Monday.

Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., said he was "deeply offended when Donald Trump fails to honor the sacrifices of all of our brave soldiers who were lost in that war."

Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said the Khans "deserve to be heard and respected."

"My advice to Donald Trump has been and will continue to be to focus on jobs and national security and stop responding to every criticism whether it's from a grieving family or Hillary Clinton," Blunt said in a statement.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, whose Republican primary opponent was bestowed best wishes from Trump on Twitter on Monday, is refusing to engage, his spokesman said.

"Rather than engage in a back-and-forth, the speaker is going to remain focused entirely on ensuring we deliver strong Republican majorities this fall," Zack Roday said in an emailed statement.

In his first rally after the dispute blew up, Trump spoke at length and took several questions at a town-hall rally in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday -- never once mentioning the Khans. Nor did he mention them at a Monday night rally in Mechanicsburg, Pa.

But when asked about Khizr Khan on Fox News Channel's Hannity, Trump responded, "I guess it's part of my life."

"His son died 12 years ago," Trump added. "If I were president, his son wouldn't have died, because I wouldn't have been in the war if I was president back then."

Later Monday, the nominee's running mate, Mike Pence, quieted a Nevada crowd that booed a woman who had asked how Pence can tolerate what she said was Trump's disrespect of American servicemen.

The woman said her son serves in the U.S. Air Force. She asked Pence, the governor of Indiana, during a town hall at Carson City Casino in Nevada about Trump's treatment of the Khans.

Pence asked the crowd to quiet down.

"Capt. Kahn is an American hero," he said. "We honor him and his family ... we cherish his family."

Pence added that he's never spent time around someone who is "more devoted" than Trump to the military and to veterans.

Trump also said Monday that he fears the general election "is going to be rigged," which he did not back up with any immediate evidence.

"I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged, I have to be honest," the nominee told the audience in Columbus. He added that he has been hearing "more and more" that the election may not be contested fairly, though he did not elaborate further.

He repeated the charge Monday night on Hannity, saying, "Nov. 8th, we'd better be careful, because that election is going to be rigged. And I hope the Republicans are watching closely, or it's going to be taken away from us."

Requests to Trump's campaign for additional explanation were not returned.

GOP donors annoyed

Trump has also recently ruffled key Republican donors. With Election Day just three months away, billionaire industrialist Charles Koch has declared that his expansive political network would not support Trump, questioning whether the nominee believes in free markets.

During a gathering with some of the nation's most powerful Republican donors Sunday, the 80-year-old conservative also dismissed as "a blood libel" any suggestion he might support Clinton.

"At this point I can't support either candidate, but I'm certainly not going to support Hillary," Koch told hundreds of donors gathered for a weekend retreat in a luxury hotel at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.

Koch and his chief lieutenants openly refused to support Trump, focusing their resources instead on helping the GOP win competitive Senate contests in states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Details on Koch's decision emerged Sunday, the second day of a three-day gathering for donors who promise to give at least $100,000 each year to the various groups backed by the Koch brothers' Freedom Partners -- a network of education, policy and political entities that aims to promote a smaller, less intrusive government.

The decision was welcomed by many of the 400 donors who attended the weekend retreat, even though "a reasonably significant" number of attendees wanted the Koch network to support Trump, said Chris Wright, a Colorado-based energy entrepreneur.

"Terrible and truly awful are the two choices," Wright said, suggesting that even if he voted for Trump in November -- and that's not decided -- he wouldn't go any further.

"We're not going to give any money to support Donald Trump," Wright explained.

Still, Koch's decision not to embrace Trump threatened to alienate some heavyweight network backers who have rallied to the nominee's side in recent months -- mega-donors such as Wisconsin roofing billionaire Diane Hendricks, Oklahoma oilman Harold Hamm and New York hedge-fund magnate Robert Mercer, none of whom attended the weekend's conclave.

"A lot of donors are saying, 'Why are we spending money on Senate candidates and not trying to beat Hillary?'" said one Republican familiar with the views of major-party financiers, who requested anonymity to describe private conversations.

Network officials sought to defuse some of the frustration by announcing that Koch-backed groups would feature Clinton in Senate campaign ads, tying her policy stances to those of Democratic contenders in battlegrounds states such as Ohio.

Meanwhile, Clinton campaigned in Omaha, Neb., with billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who criticized Trump for his hesitancy to release his tax returns.

Buffett pointed out Trump is breaking with decades of presidential campaign tradition by keeping secret documents that can reveal much about a candidate's charitable giving, assets and spending priorities. Trump has said he'll release the returns after the IRS is finished auditing him.

But Buffett suggested the real reason is fear, saying, "You're only afraid if you have something to be afraid of."

He added that he would be "delighted" to meet Trump between now and the election.

"I'll bring my tax return, he'll bring his tax return ... and just let people ask us questions," Buffett said.

Clinton has released eight years of recent tax filings.

Information for this article was contributed by Julie Pace, Erica Werner, Bill Barrow, Lisa Lerer, Jonathan Lemire, Steve Peoples, Scott Sonner and staff members of The Associated Press and by Matea Gold, Katie Zezima and Sean Sullivan of The Washington Post.

A Section on 08/02/2016

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