Khizr Khan: 'Trump may damage American democracy permanently'

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/15/khizr-khan-donald-trump-joe-biden-interview#img-1

Khan, whose army captain son died in Iraq, gave a speech at the 2016 Democratic convention that was a moral indictment of Trump. Joe Biden, he says, has the character to be president

David Smith @smithinamerica
Sat 15 Aug 2020 02.00 EDT


Khizr Khan: ‘America cannot have four more years of this mentality that continues to divide us. It’s selfish and self-centred.’
Khizr Khan: ‘America cannot have four more years of this mentality that continues to divide us. It’s selfish and self-centred.’

Photograph: Jared Soares/The Guardian


It was a warning that America chose to ignore, but a moment remembered long after the speeches of career politicians were done and forgotten.

Four summers ago, in the lead-up to the pivotal 2016 US election, Khizr Khan stood before the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia and told how his son, an American Muslim and army captain, died in Iraq. He had a question for Donald Trump, the Republican nominee threatening to ban Muslim immigrants.

“Have you even read the United States constitution?” he demanded, holding a copy aloft, as he delivered a seven-minute tour de force that became the emotional heart of one of the biggest weeks of the election campaign.

When Democrats convene for their 2020 convention next week, albeit virtually, Khan will again be taking part. His darkest fears about Trump and the mortal threat he poses to the constitution have been realised, he says. But he retains faith in America and finds hope in Joe Biden, the Democratic presumptive nominee, who understands what it is to endure the death of a child.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/15/khizr-khan-donald-trump-joe-biden-interview