President Obama says Trump is “unfit” to be president

World Today

President Obama says Trump is unfit To be president12

The candidacy of Donald Trump to become President of the United States has become overshadowed by a controversy over a speech given by the father of a dead U.S. Muslim soldier.
Republicans as well as Democrats have criticized Trump, his poll numbers are slipping and now he’s even drawn fire from the White House.

CCTV America’s Nathan King reports.

At the Democratic convention last week Khizr Khan paid tribute to his son Humayun’s valor. He was killed in the line of duty in Iraq in 2004.

Mr. Khan also criticized Trump’s proposed ban on Muslim immigration and accused the candidate of sacrificing “nothing”.

Even in the U.S, it is rare for a sitting president to call a rival candidate unfit for office but Barack Obama is doing just that-calling on Republicans to dump their candidate. 

It was meant to be very different the Republican nominee Donald Trump was supposed to come out of the convention focusing on his rival Hillary Clinton and victory in the November general election. 

But Khizr Kahn’s stirring speech has sidetracked the Trump campaign. He said Trump has sacrificed nothing and no one.

Trump responded on social media said he was viciously attacked by Mr. Khan at the Democratic Convention.

But Mr. Khan’s emotional story has resonated across the political spectrum. In an interview on CCTV, he movingly talks of his son and his sacrifice.

Trump does say Mr. Khan’s son was a hero, but Trump stood by his proposals to ban Muslim immigration as a way to stop potential terrorists entering the U.S.

But he then seemed to equate his own sacrifices in the business world with the Khan’s sacrifice of their son. And now, there are questions about how Trump avoided military service in the Vietnam War.

“The damage has been done. Many leaders in Trump’s own party have criticized his comments and veterans groups, a core Republican constituency, have criticized Trump, too. Trump had been counting on the military vote to help win the White House in November.” said Republicans McCain and Ryan.

Trump’s rival Hillary Clinton said his criticism of a family who gave their son in defense of the country sunk to a new low in an already nasty election campaign. Trump hit back, highlighting Clinton’s support for the Iraq war in which the Khan’s son died.

Trump’s support, however, seems to be sagging. In the latest polls Hillary Clinton seems to be building a stronger lead. While traditional Trump supporters praise his plain speaking, his salvoes against what Americans call a Gold Star family – a family that lost a child in the service of the country – has offended many. It could cost him votes in an election now less than 100 days away.

Clifford Young on latest in the 2016 election

For more on latest discussion about 2016 election, CCTV-America’s Elaine Reyes interviewed Clifford Young, the President of U.S. Public Affairs at Ipsos.