Statements made by Donald Trump over the weekend concerning rival Kamala Harris were swiftly rebuffed by senior Republicans. Trump insinuated during his campaign speeches that Kamala Harris was congenitally “mentally disabled” and her actions resembled those of “a mentally disabled individual.”
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham voiced his disagreement with Trump’s allegations, which arose during what Trump confessed to be a “dark” discourse. “The most sensible approach is to argue that her policies are leading to the country’s collapse,” Graham told CNN, insisting that while he does not believe she is mentally unstable, her political strategies are.
The exchange occurred amid discussions on domestic matters like immigration and border security, leading Sunday’s political talk shows. At a Saturday rally in Wisconsin, Trump criticised Harris’s handling of these issues as Vice-President.
Trump further commented that Harris has been mentally compromised since birth, adding that anyone who lets the country’s current situation develop must be mentally impaired. “If a Republican behaved as she did, they would be rightfully impeached and dismissed from office due to grievous offences,” he added.
Tom Emmer, a Republican representative from Minnesota and a part of JD Vance’s debate prep team, however, suggested focusing on the issues at hand in a discussion with ABC News: “The key matter is that Trump once solved it, they ruined it, and now he’ll rectify it.”
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, on the other hand, admonished Trump’s comments in a CBS News interview, deeming them offensive to Vice-President Harris and those living with mental disabilities. Hogan has repeatedly expressed his disdain for Trump’s divisive language over the years.
Meanwhile, Trump campaign Communications Director Steven Cheung chose not to directly respond to Trump’s widely criticised remarks but instead attacked Harris’s track record on immigration and border security, claiming it demonstrated her unfitness for presidency.
Trump’s comments form part of a lengthy series of personal assaults against his rivals, enthusiastically endorsed by his supporters, while Democrats also resort to name-calling, labelling Trump and Vance as “unusual”.
Many have latched onto President Trump’s sentiments on Vice President Harris’s intellectual capabilities, branding them as derogatory towards those with mental disabilities. JB Pritzker, governor of Illinois, accused Trump of hurling personal insults during a CNN interview. He suggested that Trump was merely projecting his own shortcomings onto others each time he resorted to such name-calling.
Likewise, former attorney general under Obama, Eric Holder, interpreted Trump’s observations as a sign of his own cognitive decline. In a discussion with MSNBC, he remarked that Trump had frequently criticised Joe Biden’s cognitive functions. He questioned where Trump would find himself cognitively in the next few years given his current state.
President of the American Association of People with Disabilities, Maria Town, reminded everyone that numerous presidents had disabilities. In a statement to the Washington Post, Town countered that Trump’s critical comments are more revealing of his own biased and disrespectful attitudes towards disabled individuals, including Vice President Harris, than anything else.