Trump, magnet for discord and disruption, outdoes himself
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – So far this week, Donald Trump has careened from controversy to controversy, sparking headlines by escalating fights with a military family, his party’s top-elected official and, even, it seemed, a baby.
The Republican presidential nominee also claimed he’s always wanted a Purple Heart, gave an eyebrow-raising response to how his daughter would handle workplace sexual harassment, called his general election opponent “the devil,” threatened to undermine the nation’s tradition of peaceful democracy by suggesting the election could be rigged and collected a series of bipartisan denouncements that would stagger any other candidate for office.
Here’s a look at Trump’s week to date:
It was 7:10 a.m. Monday when Trump took to Twitter and fanned the flames of yet another potentially damaging political feud: his flap with Khizr and Ghazala Khan, a Muslim-American family whose son, Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed while serving in Iraq in 2004.
Trump, in an interview Tuesday, declined to endorse House Speaker Paul Ryan, the Republicans’ top-ranked official, and Sen. John McCain, its 2008 presidential nominee, in a sharp blow to GOP unity just two weeks after its national convention. Both are seeking re-election this fall.
With controversy simmering over his remarks against a military family, Trump opened a rally in northern Virginia by accepting a Purple Heart from an audience member. Trump, who never served in the military, said it was “an honor” to receive the medal, which is given to soldiers wounded in combat.
Trump in recent days has taken to categorizing Bernie Sanders’ decision to support Hillary Clinton a “deal with the devil.” But at a rally in Pennsylvania Monday night, he unleashed on the Democratic nominee directly. “She’s the devil,” he said.
Trump suggested if his daughter Ivanka were the victim of workplace sexual harassment she should find another job. In an interview published Monday in USA Today, the nominee continued to defend his friend Roger Ailes, who was ousted from his position as head of Fox News after charges of serial sexual harassment.
Trump was interrupted Tuesday in Virginia by the wails of a child – and the reality TV star joked he wanted the crying baby ejected from his rally.