“It was under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton that changed the rules of engagement that probably cost his life,” said spokeswoman Katrina Pierson. Trump spokeswoman blames Obama for 2004 death of Captain Khan

Donald Trump’s spokeswoman blamed the policies of President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the death of Army Capt. Humayun Khan, despite the fact that Khan died in 2004.

“It was under Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton that changed the rules of engagement that probably cost his life,” spokeswoman Katrina Pierson said in an interview Tuesday with CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer.


Khan died during the presidency of George W. Bush, while Obama was a state senator in Illinois.

Khan is the son of Ghazala and Khizr Khan, whose condemnation of Trump on Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention received widespread coverage.

Rules of engagement constitute the military policy that specify when soldiers are authorized for use of force.

Trump fired back at the Khans after the speech, drawing bipartisan criticism from officials including Obama and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) said he would vote for Clinton over Trump following his comments about the Gold Star family.

Pierson also said in the CNN interview that Trump “never voted for the Iraq War.” BuzzFeed previously reported that Trump expressed support for the invasion during a 2002 interview with radio host Howard Stern.