Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hits Donald Trump hard with first words of Democratic convention speech
NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had barely taken the stage when he dropped a burn on Donald Trump.
"I'm Michael Jordan and I'm with Hillary," he said. "I say that because I know Donald Trump couldn't tell the difference."
The all-time leading points scorer, Abdul-Jabbar issued the zing on Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention.
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Abdul-Jabbar then quickly turned serious, telling the story of Captain Humayun Saqib Muazzam Khan, a Muslim U.S. soldier who died in combat in Iraq, and was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and a Purple Heart.
He recounted how Khan's family came to the U.S. from the United Arab Emirates.
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"The first place they visited upon arriving in America was the Jefferson memorial. The words engraved there read, 'I have sworn upon the altar of god eternal, hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man,'" Abdul-Jabbar said.
He then turned those words on Trump.
"Donald Trump's idea to register Muslims and prevent them from entering our country is the very tyranny Jefferson abhorred," he said.
Khan was killed in 2004 when a suicide bomber attacked his U.S. Army unit.
Abdul-Jabbar then introduced Khan's parents. Khan's father, Khizr Kahn, issued an emotional rebuke of Trump for his rhetoric toward Muslims.
"Have you ever been to Arlington cemetery? Go look at the graves of brave patriots, who died defending United States of America," Khizr Kahn said, directing his words toward Trump. "You will see all faiths, genders, and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one. We cannot solve -- we cannot solve our problems by building walls, sewing division. We are stronger together."
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Topics Donald Trump Elections
Jason Abbruzzese is a Business Reporter at Mashable. He covers the media and telecom industries with a particular focus on how the Internet is changing these markets and impacting consumers. Prior to working at Mashable, Jason served as Markets Reporter and Web Producer at the Financial Times. Jason holds a B.S. in Journalism from Boston University and an M.A. in International Affairs from Australian National University.
