Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Tuesday the feud between Donald Trump and the father of a dead Muslim-American soldier was started by the Democrats.
Khizr Khan spoke at the Democratic National Convention and had strong words for Trump, calling him out for his proposed ban on Muslims in the United States. That started a war of words between the two.
"Mr. Khan is the one who went out and struck the first blow," Perry told CNN's Jake Tapper. "In a campaign if you're gonna go out and think that you can take a shot at somebody and not have incoming coming back at you, shame on you."
Mediaite posted a clip of Perry's remarks.
"I think the Democrats used him in a way that quite frankly I'm not sure that I approve of," Perry said. "We love our veterans. We love our Gold Star families. But the fact of the matter is Mr. Khan politically used his time on that stage to go after Donald Trump. Why in the world he thought he was gonna get a free ride with that is beyond me."
Perry was one of 17 Republicans in the 2016 race for president but he ended his campaign last September after failing to muster much support. He eventually endorsed Trump in May.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.