This is an open letter to both Khizr Khan and Donald Trump. Since I have much to say to each of you before I say something to both of you, I’m going to break this up into two letters before signing off to both of you.
Dear Khizr,
I don’t care anymore.
Not about your son, Humayun, who died a hero serving his country. I, and all Americans, are grateful for his sacrifice. That he volunteered to serve our country is a testament to his character, and you played a role in raising him to be the man he was.
This is going to sound cold, but it needs to be said: You have suffered the loss of your son, something most of us can’t imagine. But he is the one who sacrificed, not you.
You didn’t force Humayun to enlist. He wasn’t drafted; he chose to sign up. You couldn’t stop him if you wanted to. He gave his life protecting his fellow soldiers. There is no doubt he died a hero. I find it disturbing you would use his sacrifice and your grief to advance an open-borders agenda.
Yes, I listened to your speech, and I read it again tonight. It wasn’t about your son. It used his sacrifice to advocate for open borders. He was your son; you can use his memory any way you like. But we don’t have to like it or find it tasteful.
It doesn’t matter that you used it to endorse a candidate who voted for the war in which your son was killed or that you decided not to direct your anger toward your fellow Muslim who murdered him. These are choices you’ve justified to yourself, and if you are fine with it, that’s up to you.
That you act as though Humayun’s sacrifice entitles you to a life without pushback on matters unrelated to his death is where you lose me. When you demand to know what Trump sacrificed, without demanding the same from your chosen candidate, well, perhaps you should reread that Constitution you waved around during your speech. Nowhere will you find that as a requirement for elected office. Were it, Hillary would be even more disqualified than her lies and government service profiteering already make her.
I never would tell you how to grieve. You grieve however you must. But I will not yield my beliefs to yours because of your grief.
I don’t even like Donald Trump as a candidate, but having watched wall-to-wall coverage of you since your Thursday speech – one unchallenged, glowing interview after another – I simply don’t care anymore.
I do find it unseemly that you are an immigration attorney who stands to profit from that which you invoked your son’s memory to advocate. Again, you’re the one who has to live with that, and I am entitled to speak my mind on it as well.
You claim not to have sought the spotlight. Either you’re lying or hopelessly naïve.
I’m not sure you’ve left a TV studio since your speech, aside from trips to other TV studios for more interviews. That’s not really the action of someone simply trying to live a quiet life. I woke up Monday with you on CNN at 7 a.m. I went to bed Monday night with you on CNN at 10. I’d wonder whether they even let you leave, but you were on almost every other network that day too.
I can say you have a strength I don’t in that you have been able to play victim, claim martyr status for the brave actions of your son and say Trump has a “black soul.”
On issues of your grief, they are all yours and you should have free range. On issues of policy, you should be treated like every other American. That is what your son sacrificed his life for. To act any differently would be to soil his and the thousands of his fellow American soldiers’ sacrifices. That, sir, I simply won’t do.
Dear Donald,
Do you want to lose? I ask seriously because short of calling Hillary fat and ugly while throwing babies off Trump Tower, I don’t honestly know what you would do differently.
I know you consider yourself a “counter-puncher,” but most of your counter-punches have landed squarely on your own nose.
You’re new to politics, at least on the vote-seeking side, but you haven’t lived in a bunker. There is no excuse for continually stepping into a bear trap Stevie Wonder could see coming.
If you don’t want the job, quit and walk away. If you want the job, it’s past time to get serious. Because you’re on track to be known as that which you fear most – a loser.
That label is waiting for you on Nov. 8 if you don’t smarten up.
I’m not for you, but good Lord, Hillary Clinton is an awful candidate and you’re losing to her. She should be your entire focus now, not some random guy the nation would have long forgotten by now no matter what he said about you.
Don’t punch down; you’re wasting your time.
Hillary spent Sunday lying again about her email scandal, but you’d never know it because you let a former Clinton staffer goad you into a fight with Mr. Khan. It was incredibly dumb.
Your opponent is as trustworthy as Wimpy’s promise to pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today, and you’re throwing insults toward a man, no matter his flaws, steeped in natural sympathy. Stop being dumb.
Who do you have around you? If you aren’t listening to them, start. If you are listening to them, fire them all now and hire people to replace them who have won elections. Whatever you’re doing now isn’t working.
You can blame the “Never Trump” crowd for a loss. You can blame a “rigged system.” But if you lose, whatever the cause, history will remember only that you lost. No number of buildings with your name on them will change that.
The only things coming out of your mouth, or your fingertips 140 characters at a time, should be about creating jobs, defeating terrorists and securing the country. Period.
A whole bunch of people you’ve never heard of before, and won’t hear of again, will be taking swings at you over the next three months. Ignore them all. Yes, they’re “swinging” at you, but so what? If they hit you it will be on your ankle. Hillary is your opponent, not the endless string of vetted political kamikazes Democrats will throw at you.
And recognize the media, no matter how many parties you’ve attended with them, are not your friends. They are not fair. They are not honest. Even if they attended your wedding or your events, they are against you now and will lie, cheat and steal to defeat you. Don’t play their game. Don’t answer their questions designed to trap you. Have a message and stick to it.
Or be a loser. The choice is yours.
Donald and Khizr,
You two are intertwined for the moment, and Khan is doing exactly what he was chosen to do – be an anchor around the Trump campaign. One of you doesn’t care; the other should.
Khizr, when the Democrats are done with you, I hope you can live with the void left behind. They have a lot of human props in their wake; some handle it better than others.
And this is just me talking, but you might want to consider directing some of your anger toward those committing genocide in the name of your religion. I know you said Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. But instead of bringing that up to media types who will let you slide without challenge, you should share that with those who are sawing off the heads of anyone, including Muslims, who doesn’t measure up to what they see as Allah’s standards. Just sayin’.
Donald, it’s time to grow up. Get in the game or leave the field. If you aren’t simply a plant to ensure a Hillary presidency, stop acting like it. No one has ever faced a weaker opponent and done worse. Is that how you want to be remembered? Because that’s how you’ll be remembered if you lose.
Consciously uncouple and prepare for what comes next. Khizr, if that’s continuing to attack Donald, knock yourself out. Donald, if that involves actually trying to win the presidency, ignore Khizr and every Khizr they throw at you. If you’re capable of it…