Trump Takes the High Road, Names Post Office After Fallen Soldier with Anti-Trump Parents
President Donald Trump is often attacked as petty, and sure enough, holding his tongue isn’t exactly the president’s strong suit. Nevertheless, a classy action by the commander in chief just showed that Trump is able to take the high road when he chooses to.
You might remember the brouhaha over Capt. Humayun Khan that made national news during the 2016 election cycle. Khan was a soldier who died in Iraq during the early years of that war and whose parents became strongly anti-Trump.
In 2004, the 27-year-old Khan was killed while deployed. He received both the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart after his death.
The late soldier’s father Khizr Khan briefly became a household name after he was invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention in 2016. After the slain officer’s family had harsh words for candidate Trump, the candidate pushed back in a way that many critics called unpresidential.
“Humayun Khan was born in the United Arab Emirates to Pakistani parents. His family moved to America 36 years ago,” CNN explained at the time.
Fueled by the establishment media, the clash between the Gold Star family of a foreign-born Muslim who joined the U.S. Army and the Republican presidential nominee quickly turned into a firestorm.
Trump piled scorn on the soldier’s parents, whom he argued were making false claims about him and were being used by Democrats.
“While I feel deeply for the loss of his son, Mr. Khan, who has never met me, has no right to stand in front of millions of people and claim I have never read the Constitution, (which is false) and say many other inaccurate things,” the future president said months before the election, according to The Hill.
However, he drew a line between the slain soldier and his Democrat parents.
“Capt. Humayun Khan was a hero to our country and we should honor all who have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep our country safe. The real problems here are the radical Islamic terrorist who killed him and the efforts of these radicals to enter our country and do us further harm,” Trump said at the time.
But it looks like the hatchet has been mostly buried. Trump just signed a bill which names a federal building in late Capt. Khan’s honor.
“The law dubs a US Postal Service facility in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Captain Humayun Khan Post Office,” CNN reported. “It follows an extended controversy from the summer before Trump’s victory.”
“The bill Trump signed into law Friday, more than two years removed from the controversy, was introduced by retiring Rep. Tom Garrett, a Virginia Republican,” that outlet continued. “It passed both chambers of Congress by unanimous consent.”
Lawmakers, including Hillary Clinton’s former running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine, had positive words about the decision.
“With the dedication of this post office, we’re showing the Khan family that we’re forever grateful for his service and sacrifice for our country,” a statement from Virginia Sens. Kaine and Mark Warner stated.
A federal building being named in their son’s honor may not assuage the pain that the Khan family still feels over losing their son, but it’s a respectful gesture.
America’s veterans need to be remembered, and long after the election-year skirmish between Trump and the Khan family is forgotten, local residents will still remember the name of Capt. Humayun Khan — just as they should.
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