WASHINGTON — The AAPI Victory Fund — the first Super PAC of its kind — condemned Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for his callous attacks on Khizr and Ghazla Khan. The Khans are a Gold Star family, which signifies that their son is a fallen American soldier.
“By criticizing the Khan family, Trump was not just attacking Muslims, but disparaging all American soldiers and veterans and the entire Asian American and Pacific Islander community,” AAPI Victory Fund said in a statement. “The repeated pattern of attacks on this family from the Republican candidate is reprehensible. The Victory Fund stands in solidarity with the Khan family.”
“As a proud American who is Muslim, we cannot remain silent when the Republican presidential candidate’s platform is based on hate and bigotry,” said Dilawar Syed, co-founder and vice chair of the AAPI Victory Fund. “Mr. Khan’s call to action in speech last week at the DNC was to vote — underscoring that this election is the most important of our lifetime and we must turn out the vote in every community.”
“When Donald Trump attacks the Khans, he attacks my community too,” said Tung Nguyen, co-founder of the AAPI Victory Fund. “Trump’s comments against refugees, new Americans and anyone who does not hold his rigid ideology, is attacking the essence of what America is.”
The Pew Research Center estimates that 28 percent of 3.3 million Muslims living in the United States are of Asian descent.
“We stand in solidarity with our American Muslim brothers and sisters,” said Shekar Narasimhan, chair of the AAPI Victory Fund. “The American Muslim community is diverse and by attacking them, Trump directly attacks Koreans, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indians, Pakistanis, Filipinos and all AAPIs.”
“Prominent Republicans have spoken out against Donald Trump’s actions, and some have even left the Republican party,” said Varun Nikore, vice chair for strategy & operations. “Regardless of political party, there comes a time where decency and respect of those who served must prevail. We must all take action at the ballot box to send a strong message that the AAPI community will not tolerate this behavior from a presidential candidate.”
The Victory Fund, which announced its support for Secretary Hillary Clinton, is working with progressive partners — including the American Muslim community — to mobilize and influence Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders voters in key battleground states where growing AAPI populations could be the margin of victory. With a population of more than 21 million and representing six percent of the country’s population, AAPIs are the fastest-growing and most diverse minority groups in the U.S.
