Senior Republican leaders have distanced themselves from Donald Trump's controversial comments made during campaign stops over the weekend, in which he insulted Kamala Harris by suggesting she was "born mentally disabled" and compared her actions to those of a "mentally disabled person."
Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, pushed back on Trump's statements, urging a focus on policy instead of personal attacks. "I just think the better course to take is to prosecute the case that her policies are destroying the country,” Graham said during an appearance on CNN. He added, “I’m not saying she’s crazy, her policies are crazy."
Trump made the remarks during a rally in Wisconsin on Saturday while discussing Harris's handling of immigration and border security. He stated, “Kamala is mentally impaired... If a Republican did what she did, that Republican would be impeached and removed from office.”
Further distancing himself from the comments, Minnesota Republican Representative Tom Emmer emphasized the importance of focusing on issues rather than personal attacks. "I think we should stick on the issues. The issues are, Donald Trump fixed it once. They broke it. He’s going to fix it again."
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan was more direct in his criticism, calling Trump’s comments "insulting not only to the vice-president, but to people that actually do have mental disabilities." Hogan added, "I’ve said for years that Trump’s divisive rhetoric is something we can do without."
Despite widespread backlash, Trump's campaign communications director, Steven Cheung, did not directly address the offensive remarks. Instead, he focused on Harris's record, stating her performance on immigration and border security issues made her "wholly unfit to serve as president."
Democrats were quick to condemn Trump’s statements. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker called the remarks "name-calling" and said Trump was projecting his own faults onto others. Former Attorney General Eric Holder suggested that Trump's comments might indicate his own "cognitive decline."
Maria Town, president of the American Association of People with Disabilities, also criticized Trump’s words, stating they reflected his "hateful biases" and highlighted that many U.S. presidents have had disabilities.
The controversy adds to a long list of personal attacks by Trump that often draw enthusiastic support from his base but face broad criticism from both sides of the political spectrum.
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