Trump insists Capt. Khan would be alive if he were president in 2004

Donald Trump is doubling down on his claims that if he were president in 2004, Khizr Khan’s son would not have died in Iraq.

{mosads}In an interview published Wednesday with ABC, George Stephanopoulos asked the Republican presidential nominee if he should have apologized to the Khan family for feuding with them after Khizr Khan spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

Trump dodged the question, instead insisting that he has “great respect for the Khan family.”

“I mean the son is a great hero. But if I were president at that time, Capt. Khan would be alive today, George. Because I wouldn’t have been in Iraq,” Trump said.

Trump previously said Humayun Khan’s life would have been spared under a Trump presidency during a debate against Hillary Clinton.

Khan was killed while serving in Iraq by a suicide bomber in 2004.

His father gave an impassioned speech at convention, and lashed out at the GOP nominee.

Since then, Khan has been featured in an emotional ad for Hillary Clinton and campaigned for the Democratic presidential nominee.

In an interview with ABC, Khan called Trump’s claim that his son would be alive if he were president the “most cruel thing you can say to grieving parents”

“There is no sincerity in those remarks. He utters those words totally obvious to the understanding of where we are, where we stand, what the values are, and how to express, how to be empathetic,” Khan said.

“This is one character that a leader must have to be the leader of a a great country, to be the Commander in chief of the armed forces of the United States — empathy. And this person totally lack that.”