# Will Trump survive his treatment of Khizr and Ghazala Khan? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 1, 2016, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463 "2016-08-01T13:37:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/141 "2016-08-02T13:55:28Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > [Veterans of Foreign Wars has a few choice words:](http://www.vfw.org/News-and-Events/Articles/2016-Articles/VFW-Supports-Gold-Star-Families/) Truth be told, I kinda wish they’d oppose Trump more on the basis of the Republicans being likelier to cut funding for veterans’ benefits and to veteran’s hospitals. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/142 "2016-08-02T14:12:43Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > Assange is getting his Wikileaks ready. Trump’s counter-punch is coming. But what will he counter-punch with? He’s already beaten Benghazi, Libya/Syria/ISIS, “crooked Hillary”, “she’s the worst Secretary of State in the history of the US”, the email “scandal”, the Iran nuclear deal, etc, into the ground, and look where this has got him. I so suppose to the extent that there are undecided voters that aren’t paying attention to the campaigns as of yet, he could still pick up some voters with this. In any case, I think it’s time Trump realizes that the schtick that got him the nomination is not going to work in the general election. Either he stops counter-punching and tries actually talking about the issues and what he would do about them, or he has even less of chance than the polls now indicate. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/143 "2016-08-02T14:43:04Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > As running coach said, it was the fire marshal of Colorado Springs – who happens to be a local hero: > > [Donald Trump, rescued from stuck elevator, later blasts fire marshal](http://www.denverpost.com/2016/07/30/donald-trump-criticism-fire-marshal/) I live in Colorado Springs (no of course I didn’t attend his rally). The fire dept. rescues his ass from a stuck elevator and he insults them. :rolleyes: You know those hard working blue collar white guys are supposed to be your favored demographic, right? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/144 "2016-08-02T15:36:38Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > He recently, for example, repeated the lie that Muslims “knew” about various plans for terrorist attacks and did not report the perpetrators, while there is no evidence for that ever occurring and the last congresscritter who called hearings to “prove” that claim was met with numerous statements from Law Enforcement officials that nearly all the conspiracies that have been stopped were the result of reports from Muslims. Do you have a cite for that last part? I’d like to share it with a friend of mine… thanks! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/145 "2016-08-02T15:38:13Z")
“Who was that mosqued man? I wanted to thank him!” ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/146 "2016-08-02T15:50:44Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Truth be told, I kinda wish they’d oppose Trump more on the basis of the Republicans being likelier to cut funding for veterans’ benefits and to veteran’s hospitals. If they did that, they’d be partisan, and being partisan is apparently worse than being wrong. It’s like when you see two children squabbling: You don’t know what the fight is, it doesn’t matter. Nothing children do matters. All that matters is getting them to shut up. So you say they’re both right and make them move on. Great way to raise kids, by the way. Wonderful outcomes from that. Fortunately, the same applies to politics: Nothing the political world does matters, nothing politicians debate about affects real people, so just make like they’re both right on all substantive issues and only punish only the deviations from the expected behavior; that is, it doesn’t matter if you’re wrong or right, it only matters if you’re loud, or at least louder than usual. That’s what intelligent, mature adults do; taking any other position would make you a sucker, a loser, a mark, a pigeon, and, worst of all, a True Believer. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/147 "2016-08-02T15:53:39Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Oh, yes, he does. He’s not going to do it. Problem solved. If you mean he’s going to refuse to debate, I agree. The entire Republican party and his campaign staff will physically bar him from getting on stage if necessary. They all know she will egg him on to saying something so catastrophic that there won’t be any recovery possible. Kinda like Jack Nicolson on the stand in _A Few Good Men_, or Bogie in _The Caine Mutiny_. They thought they had it all wrapped up, and they just said one thing too many, and the ground disappeared from beneath their feet like magic. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/148 "2016-08-02T16:05:38Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > If you mean he’s going to refuse to debate, I agree. The entire Republican party and his campaign staff will physically bar him from getting on stage if necessary. They all know she will egg him on to saying something so catastrophic that there won’t be any recovery possible. Trump could have done well in a debate against Clinton two or three months ago. He handled the Republican debates well enough. Of course he would not win against her in terms of facts, but facts don’t really mean much. He could have just repeated his talking points and looked “more Presidential than expected.” Now I don’t know. He seems even more hyper-sensitive than ever and the Democrats have started using it as an active campaign strategy. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/149 "2016-08-02T16:12:43Z")
I actually think this one might put the nail in the coffin. But this is the fifth time I’ve thought that. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/150 "2016-08-02T16:22:33Z")
I’m wondering if the Khan issue is going to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. This seems to have more legs than other dust-ups have had. The notion of attacking a gold star mother, even one who happens to be Muslim, is beyond the pale. This compounded by the eloquence of Mr. Kahn and the knee-jerk reaction of Trump to lash back at anyone who dares question his awesomeness, might just shatter his hold on his followers. Of course, there are some hard cores out there who dismiss the Kahns because of there religion. It’s starting to look like the wheels are falling off the wagon for Trump now. The race may get frozen in place for the next two weeks with the Olympics, but Trump really needs to call the Political Suicide Prevention Hotline. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/151 "2016-08-02T16:26:39Z")
I just posted this in the 538 Nowcast thread, but it bears repeating here: > [@](#): > > Years ago, I had a good (I thought) friend who would do or say some not-good things, to me and to others. I always rationalized these things away and remained faithful to the friendship. Then one day, in a phone conversation, she casually dropped one more betrayal on me, and from one word to the next, the friendship died. It was as if a kaleidoscope had turned and everything fell into a new pattern – an ugly, repellent one that cast a harsh light on the past. I simply could not deny the reality of who and what she was any longer. > > Call it the scales falling from my eyes, call it the tipping point, call it the straw that broke the camel’s back – for sane people, there comes a time when an ugly reality can no longer be denied. I suspect the Khan attacks will prove to be this for some people; that more such episodes will turn other people off; that while Trump will never lose his hard core of support, he will lose more and more prospective voters, in an election where he’s got to expand well beyond his base to win. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/152 "2016-08-02T16:32:33Z")
Obama mentions Trumps attack on the Capt. Khan’s family today calling Trump “unfit” for the presidency. Obama also asks why Republicans don’t back away publicly from Trump, saying "There has to be a point at which you say, ‘Enough.’ Hopefully this issue will add another few degrees to Trump’s pending boil over. > **[Obama says Trump 'unfit' for presidency | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2016/08/02/politics/obama-says-trump-unfit-for-presidency/index.html)** > > President Barack Obama offered one of his sharpest denunciations of Donald Trump to date Tuesday, declaring the Republican nominee entirely unfit to serve as president and lambasting Republicans for sticking by their nominee. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/153 "2016-08-02T16:38:05Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > This is how Trump survives. We have 40 percent of the voting public who want him to not only survive but get elected and turn the white house into a reality TV – and jail every last liberal, homosexual, Muslim, and minority on trumped up charges of treason, sedition, and apostasy. And we have cowardly right wing conservatives in congress who gave birth to this monster, rocked it while in its cradle, fed and nourished it, watched it grow before finally chasing its creators around the halls of congress like rabid wolves. They know there’s absolutely no talking to these people, and unlike democrats, they depend on these kooks for their political survival. Politically, they have a choice: they can actually stand up for the families of veterans they claim to care about, or they can “respectfully disagree” with a guy who dodged the draft and insults veterans. Trump knows, just like they know, they won’t fight Trump. They saw what happened to Ted Cruz. They know, if you don’t like Trump, you keep your mouth shut…or face the wrath of his angry legion of white christian nut bars. Some folks just seem to be impervious to new facts. I’m still amazed by that even though I’ve seen the phenomenon repeated many times over the years. I’m also saddened by the apparent swift boating attempt on Mr. Kahn by some right wingers. Someone posted the Snopes response to that, but even with the rebuttal, I’m sure the Trumpsters will continue to believe all sorts of mopery and dopery that Mr. Kahn is accused of. [https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13895363\_1037083563065900\_2674234783179017633\_n.jpg?oh=aec2e4d96787e4994a924539e11056e5&oe=582D6703](https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13895363_1037083563065900_2674234783179017633_n.jpg?oh=aec2e4d96787e4994a924539e11056e5&oe=582D6703) ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/154 "2016-08-02T16:42:01Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Kinda like Jack Nicolson on the stand in _A Few Good Men_, or Bogie in _The Caine Mutiny_. They thought they had it all wrapped up, and they just said one thing too many, and the ground disappeared from beneath their feet like magic. It’s a good idea to try to create situations somewhat like that but Clinton herself in person is still not the likely person to do it. She’s very canned and wooden in those sorts of venues, and she still can’t give a good explanation on some of her weak points (Chris Wallace interview over the weekend, so Trump hurt himself doubly by providing an excuse for most of the media to ignore it). She is very cautious (few interviews, no press conferences), her instinct to sit on even a narrow lead. So assuming the race is as now her strategy in debates will probably be to show command of facts in answering moderator questions, throw some canned zingers at Trump, brush his off, and avoid aggressive spontaneous exchanges where there’s any chance the ground might disappear beneath _her_ feet. The general strategy of trying to get under Trump’s skin is a good one. It’s just best conducted by surrogates, and ideally as in Khan’s case by surrogates Trump looks bad lashing back at, as he can’t seem to help doing. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/155 "2016-08-02T16:42:24Z")
Fucking stupid! Mountain ranges of fucking stupid! Our war with “Islamic terrorism” is a war of lies. Their number one selling point is the lie that we are at war with Islam. The American Muslim, secure and respected in his country is our best weapon in that war of lies! If Trump wrote ISIS a check for a million bucks, he wouldn’t do more for them than he already is! ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/156 "2016-08-02T16:44:17Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > But how many? I’ve sorta settled on about 20%, rough guesstimate. But really, who knows? Between 15 and 20 %. How do I know? Because that is the percentage of xenofobic, politicians-hating, low-information voters that voted for our own Dutch brand of Trump in 2012. The Dutch have a multy political party system. The US has two parties; the Dutch have ten. That makes it easier to see what people would vote if they have more then two options, more then two kinds of “conservative party”. Our Trump is, strange as it may seem, ALSO a peroxied bold, orange skinned guy, by the name of Geert Wilders. He too used to be a part of the main conservative party before he split off from them 12 years ago. [He even went to the RNC and tried to tell Trump how much he admired him](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8MEYgWcDQk)) Wilders party, PVV is a protest party with a message of xenophobia and “sticking it to the system”. [Wilders gets consistently 15 % of the votes with that message.](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tweede_Kamerverkiezingen_2012) That makes his party the second to third biggest party. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/157 "2016-08-02T16:59:34Z")
> [@Fiveyearlurker](#): > > I actually think this one might put the nail in the coffin. But this is the fifth time I’ve thought that. It’s a big coffin. Yuuuge, even. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/158 "2016-08-02T17:05:13Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > It’s a big coffin. Yuuuge, even. His ego must fit in. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/159 "2016-08-02T17:16:02Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > His ego must fit in. that’s unpossible - nothing can contain that ego. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463/160 "2016-08-02T17:18:44Z")
I may never be able to use the word “huge” again without feeling slightly nauseous. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-trump-survive-his-treatment-of-khizr-and-ghazala-khan/761463.md?page=9)