Dem rival presses Rubio over Trump-Khan feud

Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy, who is challenging Republican Marco Rubio for his Florida Senate seat, said Rubio must un-endorse Donald Trump over the presidential nominee’s fight with the parents of a slain Muslim U.S. soldier.

“The same day Donald Trump disparaged parents of a soldier killed in Iraq, Marco Rubio stood up and said that we need to get Trump elected as our next president,” Murphy said Monday in a statement.

{mosads}“Trump has completely disqualified himself from the presidency, and if Marco Rubio can’t work up the courage to withdraw his endorsement, then he does not have the courage to be Florida’s senator.”

The Democrat added that he considers Capt. Humayun Khan, who died in Iraq in 2004, and his parents, Khizr and Ghazala Khan, worthy of the utmost respect.

Khizr Kahn last week fiercely challenged Trump’s rhetoric toward Muslims during a speech at the Democratic National Convention.

“You have sacrificed nothing and no one,” he said of Trump in Philadelphia. “Have you even read the United States Constitution?”

Trump responded by praising Humayun Khan as a hero before insisting his father had “no right” to criticize him. Trump says he has made plenty of sacrifices, and he implied Ghazala Khan remained silent because of her Muslim faith.

Rubio on Monday called Trump’s feud with the Khans “unfortunate” before praising the family’s patriotism.

“Look, Sergeant Khan is a hero, for every measure,” he said, according to a transcript from his office obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.

“I think his parents are heroes and they have a First Amendment right to speak out on their politics, as all Americans do,” added Rubio, a former Republican White House hopeful. “Their son died for the Constitution, and I honor that.”