http://www.weeklystandard.com/trump-surrogate-says-khizr-khan-doesnt-deserve-gold-star-title/article/2003817Trump Surrogate Says Khizr Khan 'Doesn't Deserve' Gold Star Title5:56 PM, AUG 12, 2016 | By CHRIS DEATON
The co-chairman of Donald Trump's New York campaign said Friday that Khizr Khan, the father of a slain Muslim-American solider, "doesn't deserve" the title of a Gold Star parent.
"We've got an un-indicted felon as his opponent and you're talking about Khan, about him making a remark about this man. All right, I don't care if he's a Gold Star parent. He certainly doesn't deserve that title, okay, if he's as anti-American as he's illustrated in his speeches and in his discussion," said Carl Paladino, who has helped lead organization efforts in New York for Trump, during an interview with "Imus in the Morning."
"I mean, if he's a member of the Muslim Brotherhood or supporting the ISIS-type of attitude against America, there's no reason for Donald Trump to have to honor this man."
Khan, whose opposition to Trump dates to the candidate's proposed Muslim immigration ban last year, has been a fixture in the news since giving a speech at the Democratic National Convention last month. In response to Khan's address, Trump made a series of statements that kept the issue in the news, and the matter escalated to a prominent feud in the media. The Veterans of Foreign Wars condemned Trump in response, and substantial majorities in multiple polls disapproved of the way the GOP nominee conducted himself in handling the subject.
Paladino, who is not the first person in Trump's orbit to suggest that Khan is part of the Muslim Brotherhood, gave the topic fresh life Friday. The interview in which he made his comments was reported by BuzzFeed News.
The host, Connell McShane, also gave the former Republican candidate for governor the opportunity to clarify a comment he made last week about President Barack Obama's religion, in which he said, "In the mind of the average American, there is no doubt he is a Muslim." McShane assumed that Paladino couldn't possibly believe that about the president himself.
"How do you know that's not true?" Paladino said in response. "That's not fair, Connell. You formed a conclusion about a man because he told you that."
