Screenshot/Morning Joe
Ghazala and Khizr Khan.
Ghazala and Khizr Khan said Monday that the response to their emotional speech at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday "really affirms" their love of the US.
The pair of Muslim American Gold Star parents, whose son, Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed during the Iraq War, said in an interview with MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that the country voting for Trump would "put such a burden on our souls for the remainder of our lives."
"This nation is unique in the history of mankind," Khizr said. "There is nothing like it."
He added that he's been approached everywhere, whether it be restaurants or just on the sidewalk, by people offering well wishes following the convention speech.
"That is why I say there is just so much love and it has humbled us, it has made us even more grateful, and it has affirmed the beliefs we had 30 years ago," Khizr said of when the family came to the US. "And it affirms that we made the right decision and we are in the right place."
He said many "good Republicans" are sending emails and voicemails to him, telling him things they "want to say" but "haven't said."
Asked if they had any regrets about giving the speech, knowing potential negative attention could come of it, Khizr said his family decided "unanimously" that speaking out was the best service they could provide the country.
"There comes a time in a person's life where the burdens that have been placed on us mean nothing," he said, adding that the world watches the US and "every step they take the world emulates it."
"This election will come and pass, but the burden of voting for a divider, voting for excluder, will put such a burden on our souls for the remainder of our lives that we will not be able to bear it," he continued. "We felt compelled from within to say something about it."
Responding to criticism from Trump that she remained silent on stage because of her Islamic faith, Ghazala said "we are not from that type of culture that we have to follow the husband."
Thomson Reuters
Khizr Khan challenges Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to read his copy of the U.S. Constitution at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Trump spent the past few days chastising the Khans after Khizr criticized him sharply during his speech to the DNC.
On Monday, Trump seemed to mock Khan for being "all over T.V." criticizing the Manhattan billionaire.
"Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over T.V. doing the same - Nice!" he wrote.
"This story is not about Mr. Khan, who is all over the place doing interviews, but rather RADICAL ISLAMIC TERRORISM and the U.S." he continued. "Get smart!