In an ill-tempered second debate, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump took to the stage at Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday night.
While there were a number of flash points in the exchanges that caused social media to respond, few drew as much criticism as Trump's claim that, had he been president, Captain Humayun Khan would still be alive today.
"If I were president at that time, he would be alive today, because unlike her, who voted for the war without knowing what she was doing, I would not have had our people in Iraq," said Trump.
Donald Trump: "Captain Khan is an American hero and if I were president at that time he would be alive today." https://t.co/U3ZKtKHD1J
— ABC News (@ABC) October 10, 2016
Trump spent the days after the Democratic National Convention criticising and attacking the Khans on television and social media, and his statement that he was "an American hero" was one that the family were not prepared to accept.
Speaking to MSNBC, the Khan family responded to the remarks by stating:
"We know our son, Captain Humayun Khan, is an American hero. We also know that Donald Trump is not telling the truth when he says he was against the Iraq war. Our son served this country with honour and distinction, and gave the ultimate sacrifice. The only thing Donald Trump sacrifices is the truth."
Khans on Trump's comments about Cpt. Khan during #debate: "The only thing that Donald Trump sacrifices is the truth." pic.twitter.com/PDbj9ThJzL
— NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) October 10, 2016
The claim also drew angry criticism from Hillary Clinton's Foreign Policy spokesperson, who later apologised for the language used in his tweet, and English actor Rahul Kohli, amongst many others online.
hey, @realDonaldTrump – regarding your claim that Captain Khan would be alive if you were president:
go fuck yourself.#debate
— Jesse Lehrich (@JesseLehrich) October 10, 2016
How dare you. How fucking irresponsible do you have to be to claim that Captain Khan would be alive today if you were President? Disgrace.
— Rahul Kohli (@RahulKohli13) October 10, 2016
