Republican Senator Jeff Sessions from Alabama came out with a strong defense of Donald Trump, responding to comments that the GOP candidate has a “black soul” from Khazir Khan, the Muslim father of a fallen U.S. soldier. More than that, Sessions even suggested that Trump’s allegedly softer stance on Putin is a good thing.
Khan said Trump had a black soul in an interview on CNN’s State of the Union.He originally spoke out against the GOP candidate at the DNC convention, where he said that while his son has made the ultimate sacrifice, Trump has never “sacrificed nothing and no one.”
Jeff Sessions followed Khan’s appearance and explained that Donald Trump’s soul is just fine.
“I’m disappointed that he would say that. Donald Trump complimented him. He praised his son who gave his life for this country… I don’t think anybody that says that we ought to slow down and be more careful about bringing in immigrants from countries that have terrorist tendencies and can’t be vetted properly, I don’t believe that that’s a person who lacks a soul.”
The feud between Trump and Khan started with the DNC speech, but like with many things related to the Republican candidate, it has found its way to Twitter.
Captain Khan, killed 12 years ago, was a hero, but this is about RADICAL ISLAMIC TERROR and the weakness of our “leaders” to eradicate it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2016
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
The Twitter fight eventually got its own sarcastic hashtag, #Trumpsacrifices, which, according to CNN , included items like flying commercially, staying at a 3-star hotel, and playing golf on a public course.
Jeff Sessions went on to say that Trump was respectful of Captain Khan and his father in interviews.
“Trump, you know, takes these interviews all the time, unlike Hillary Clinton, who hides from the press. His interview was not unkind. It was respectful. It did express condolences to the family for their loss.”
Donald Trump has renewed calls to either heavily vet Muslim immigrants to the U.S. or ban or limit their numbers. Sessions claim that this is a policy supported by millions of people.
According to the NBC News , a survey showed that 50 percent of Americans support the ban on Muslims entering the country, while only 46 percent opposed it. Likewise, 51 percent of the respondents were worried that they or someone in their family could be a victim in a shooting like the one in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Terrorism was also ranked as the second more important issue facing the country, narrowly beaten by “jobs and the economy.”
Still, while Trump supports harsh measures to deal with Islamic terrorism, he’s shown a lighter touch towards Russia according to NewsMax , which Jeff Sessions also approves of.
“Donald Trump is right. We need to figure out a way to end this cycle of hostility that’s putting this country at risk, costing us billions of dollars in defense, and creating hostility that should not exist.”
As previously reported by the Inquisitr , the RNC changed its party platform to include less incisive language towards Russia, including removing calls to send weapons to Ukraine. The Los Angeles Times reported that the changes were made by Trump’s surrogates, although both the candidate and his campaign manager denied that they had any influence on that decision.
President Obama has declined sending arms to Ukraine, worried that it would only inflame the situation. According to Jeff Sessions comments, that might have been for the best.
[Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images]