We Asked Trump Supporters About the Khan Controversy. Here’s What They Said.

They also weighed in on whether Hillary Clinton is the devil.

 

Donald Trump’s feud with the family of a fallen soldier may be generating near-universal condemnation from fellow Republicans in Washington—and throwing his campaign into chaos—but supporters of the GOP presidential candidate in a nearby suburb on Tuesday seemed to think Trump was justified in his attacks on the family. Some even repeated conspiracy theories that the late soldier’s father is part of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mother Jones surveyed Trump backers at a rally in Ashburn, Virginia, for their views on Trump’s ongoing fight with the Khan family, following Khizr Khan’s emotional Democratic National Convention address about his late son, Humayun, who was killed in Iraq in 2004. Did Calvin, an attendee who declined to give his last name, take issue with Trump’s handling of the controversy, which included suggesting that Ghazala Khan had stood silently next to her husband during his speech because “maybe she wasn’t allowed to speak”? He acknowledged that Trump’s response was “very poorly worded,” but he said it didn’t affect his opinion of the candidate. “Hillary is 10 times worse than Donald Trump,” he said.

How about Christopher Abel, who was handing out business cards at the rally for the Vocal Citizens super-PAC? “My view starts with, everyone has a right to defend themselves,” he said of Trump.

Along with the Khan controversy, Trump supporters also weighed in on the GOP nominee’s recent remarks that Hillary Clinton is “the devil.” Check out their responses in the video above.

 

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We were built for times like these

Russian bots are impersonating us. Trump and his allies want to silence us. AI wants to (and does!) steal our content. The list goes on. But with 50 years of experience, we know we were built for this moment: We’re ready to keep diving deep and uncovering the truth, then getting that to you right here, completely accessible and never behind a paywall.

While our work is free to read, watch, and listen to online, it’s incredibly costly to make. Court documents, travel, research: It all adds up. Because we’re a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on reader support to fund our investigations. Will you stand with us in these extraordinary times, as headlines clamour for our attention and disinformation is rampant? We can’t get the truth out without you.

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