Freshman Republican Sen. Tom Cotton said Donald Trump should stay away from the verbal sparring with Gold Star Muslims and focus instead on keeping the country safe, Politico reported.
Cotton told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that Trump "should focus on what's going to keep this country safe, which in my opinion is Republican plans for our national security and our foreign policy and intelligence policy," according to Politico.
Cotton, a veteran, said he hoped "every American speaks to Gold Star families tenderly and with respect and even love."
Cotton was addressing the public spat between Trump and Khizr Khan that started last week at the Democratic National Convention. Khan, the father of a son who was killed in action, gave a scathing condemnation of Trump, who didn't let the slight pass.
"There's almost 7,000 Gold Star families from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan," Politico quoted Cotton.
"Some, like the Khans, obviously support Hillary Clinton. Others support Donald Trump and Republicans, but they certainly deserve to be heard because no one has given a greater sacrifice than have they and their sons and daughters to defend our freedoms."