Trump again resorts to personal attacks, calling Harris “mentally disabled” as some Republicans wince

In a speech on Saturday Donald Trump The Republican presidential candidate, described as “dark,” once again personally attacked his opponent, the vice president Kamala Harris. This time he called her “very stupid,” claimed only a “mentally retarded” person could have done her job the way she did, and said she was born “mentally retarded.”

“Joe Biden was mentally impaired, Kamala was born this way,” Trump said during a rally in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. You could hear the crowd reacting with laughter and cheers.

The backlash came quickly, with some Republicans calling on Trump to focus on the issues.

On CNN State of the UnionSouth Carolina senator and Trump ally Lindsey Graham said that while he thinks Harris is a “crazy liberal,” he believes “the better way is to pursue the case that her policies are destroying the country,” when asked during an interview with ABC This weekUS Representative Tom Emmera Republican from Minnesota, said: “I think we should stick to the issues. The problem is that Donald Trump fixed it once. They broke it. He’ll fix it again. Those are the problems.”

Former governor and frequent Trump critic Larry Hogan of Maryland, also a Republican who is in a tough Senate race there, addressed the candidate’s comments more directly.

“I think this is an insult not only to the vice president, but to people who are actually mentally disabled,” Hogan said. “We can do without Trump’s divisive rhetoric.”

“Trump has inherited much of Joe Biden’s cognitive abilities” Eric Holderthe former attorney general, who served in the Obama administration, said on MSNBC. He added, referring to the former president’s cognitive state: “If he’s here now, where will he be in three or four years?”

Following Saturday’s speech Sarafina Chitikaa Harris-Walz campaign spokesman said in a statement: “Donald Trump is finally telling voters the truth: He has nothing ‘inspirational’ to offer the American people, only darkness.”

Disability rights advocates were also quick to criticize Trump’s comments.

“Trump promotes the ableist, false belief that a person with a disability is less human and less worthy of dignity.” Maria TownCEO and president of the American Association of People with Disabilities said in a statement The Washington Post. “These perceptions are false and harmful to people with disabilities.”

Town noted that Trump’s comments “say far more about him and his inaccurate, hateful prejudices against people with disabilities than they do about Vice President Harris or any other person with a disability.”

Because Trump had to refrain from running against the president Joe Biden To combat a forceful Harris bid, his aides and some Republicans have urged the former president to steer clear of personal attacks, such as those about her gender and race. To put it simply, he didn’t listen.

In a speech in August, Trump criticized Harris’ performance, saying, “I look a lot better than her.” Much better. Much better. “I look better than Kamala,” and he took pleasure in calling Harris a “bitch,” according to one report the New York Times based on two people who heard the remark on separate occasions.

On Truth Social, the former president amplified the false claim that Harris used sexual acts to get ahead by reposting a photo of her and the former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, This included the text: “Funny how blowjobs have affected both careers differently…”

Back in July, Trump lied about how Harris portrayed her racial identity during an interview at the National Association of Black Journalists.

“She was always of Indian descent and she just promoted Indian heritage,” Trump said of the vice president. “I didn’t know she was black until she happened to be black a few years ago and now she wants to be known as black.”