It seems unity is becoming quite a problem for Donald Trump. Many well known Republicans, including ‘Low Energy’ Jeb Bush, are speaking out against his latest insult. While many Republicans may support his negative comments about Muslims, Trump crossed a line when he attacked the mother and father of an ex-serviceman, who are also Muslims. The Khans lost a son in military action for the US army and Jeb Bush has made public his disgust at Trump’s comments.
The dispute came about after Mr Khan spoke directly to Trump at the DNC in Philadelphia. Trump has since made many comments implying Khan did not write his speech and that his wife was not “allowed” to speak, which have drawn much disapproval and attention from the media and other politicians.
‘Low Energy’ Jeb Bush tweeted:
This is so incredibly disrespectful of a family that endured the ultimate sacrifice for our country. https://t.co/TQcMuwXTKV
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) July 31, 2016
During the presidential debates, Jeb Bush said to Trump:
“you can’t insult your way to the presidency“
It seems his latest insult has offended many fellow Republicans. Meghan McCain, John McCain’s daughter has announced she will not be voting for Trump. In response to the Khan debacle she also recently retweeted this:
John McCain in a statement about Trump's Khan comments: "Lastly, I’d like to say to Mr. & Mrs. Khan: thank you for immigrating to America."
— Dan Merica (@merica) August 1, 2016
In an act of further childish tit-for-tat, Trump has claimed self-defense in this tweet:
I was viciously attacked by Mr. Khan at the Democratic Convention. Am I not allowed to respond? Hillary voted for the Iraq war, not me!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2016
As a viewer and commentator, it sometimes feels like Trump is doing this all on purpose. It is as if because he cannot afford a grassroots campaign, he just says the most controversial, shocking thing he can think of, to merely gain attention. Here is hoping that the people who are watching this circus actually take note of what he is actually saying.
Yes extremism is a real problem, and needs to be addressed, but we cannot forget the atrocities of WWII. Within Islam, there are various interpretations of the faith (just as in Christianity). Many moderate Christians reject their conservative wing, just as many Muslims disapprove of theirs. The far right and ISIS have something in common, both view extremism as the true face of Islam.
It is up to moderate Muslims and Christians to stand together, to fight against the attempt to impose extreme views with terrorism.
Featured image provided by Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia available under a CC Attribution-ShareAlike License.