Over the last year and a half, Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has featured a series of deeply unfortunate moments. But by some measures, one of the lowest points came in early August, when the Republican candidate inexplicably clashed with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, whose son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq.Trump’s criticism of a Gold Star family prompted a fierce backlash, with even many Republicans denouncing their party’s presidential nominee. Under the circumstances, this seems like a topic Trump would want everyone to forget — and yet, he just can’t seem to help himself.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump today doubled down on his assertion that slain U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, a Muslim soldier who died in Iraq in 2004, “would be alive today” if Trump had been in the White House.”Had I been president, Captain Khan would be alive today. We wouldn’t have been in this horrible, horrible mistake, the war in Iraq,” Trump said in an exclusive interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos.
The claim is based on Trump’s belief that he opposed the war in Iraq from the outset, which continues to be one of his favorite lies. Adding insult to injury is the underlying ugliness of the argument itself.”This is the most cruel thing you can say to grieving parents, that if I was there this would not have happened,” Khan told ABC News, responding to Trump’s comments. “There’s no sincerity in those remarks…. This is one character that a leader must have to be the leader of a great country, to be the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the United States: empathy. And this person totally lacks that.”Apparently unable to help himself, Trump kept going in the same ABC interview, boasting about military expertise that exists only in his mind.
Donald Trump went on the offensive against a military expert and former dean of the Army War College, Jeff McCausland, who said the Republican nominee’s comments this weekend about the battle to reclaim Mosul in Iraq show he doesn’t have a firm grasp of military strategy.”You can tell your military expert that I’ll sit down and I’ll teach him a couple of things,” Trump told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview.
Keep in mind, Trump not only has no background in national security, foreign policy, or military matters, he’s also never demonstrated a basic familiarity with the details of any of these areas.There is no one who could be taught “a couple of things” about military offenses by Donald Trump. He has no idea what he’s talking about.The only thing worse than brazen arrogance in a would-be leader is misplaced arrogance. It’s a problem that the Republican presidential nominee is clueless, but ignorant people can at least try to learn. It’s a bigger problem that Trump has no idea that he’s clueless, and actually perceives himself as an expert in subjects he knows nothing about.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."