Fury as Trump attacks Muslim father’s Democratic Convention speech

US presidential hopeful Donald Trump has rejected criticism from Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim American soldier who was killed in Iraq, and questioned whether the mother was allowed to speak during the couple’s appearance at the Democratic convention.

In an interview with the New York Times opinion writer Maureen Dowd, Trump’s only comment was: “I’d like to hear his wife say something.”

The Republic nominee also gave an interview with ABC, in which he suggested that Hillary Clinton’s speechwriters scripted Khan’s speech, which Khan said has said he wrote with his wife, Ghazala Khan.

Trump said Khan appeared “very emotional and probably looked like a nice guy to me.”

But the businessman also cast doubt on why Khan's wife did not speak.

 “If you look at his wife, she was standing there,” Trump said. “She had nothing to say. She probably, maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say. You tell me.”

In a statement released later on Saturday, Trump then praised Mr Khan’s son, who was killed serving in Iraq. “Captain Humayun Khan was a hero to our country and we should honour all who have made the ultimate sacrifice to keep our country safe,” the statement said.

Trump also rejected criticism that he had “sacrificed nothing and no one”, saying he had made many sacrificies and worked hard,

"I think I've made a lot of sacrifices," Trump told ABC News in excerpts of an interview posted on Saturday. "I work very, very hard."

Khizr Khan, a U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin and a Muslim, won widespread praise when he spoke Thursday at the Democratic National Convention, telling the story of his son, U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed by a bomb in Iraq in 2004.

He also attacked Trump for proposing a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States and asked if the candidate had read the U.S. Constitution.

He pulled out a pocket-copy from the inside of his suit coat, in one of the most commented moments on the night that Hillary Clinton accepted her party's nomination for president.

On Saturday, Clinton said in a campaign rally that the Khans Khans specifically and Muslims generally are the most recent recipients of Trump's insults, and referenced his past statements about immigrants and the disabled.

"It’s a long list my friends. I don’t know, maybe he doesn’t have anything positive to say," Clinton said.

Earlier in the day, Clinton said in a statement that she was "very moved to see Ghazala Khan stand bravely and with dignity in support of her son on Thursday night. And I was very moved to hear her speak last night, bravely and with dignity, about her son's life and the ultimate sacrifice he made for his country."

Ghazala Khan told MSNBC on Friday that she chose not to speak because she still cannot bear to see her son's photographs. Khizr Khan told the New York Times that the Clinton campaign asked if he need speechwriting help or coaching.

“I said: ‘I really don't, I have my thoughts in my head,’” Khan told the Times, adding, “ ‘Just let me say what I want to say. It will be heart-to-heart’.”