As the 2024 election nears, a desperate Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has been leaning on increasingly demeaning and baseless attacks against Vice President Kamala Harris, signaling a sharp decline in his rhetoric.
Over the weekend, Trump repeated an appalling claim at a Pennsylvania rally, stating that Harris was “born mentally impaired”—a vile remark that drew chuckles from his sycophantic crowd but has been met with widespread condemnation.
Disparaging Harris’ actions as vice president, Trump told a crowd in Prairie du Chien, Wis., “Kamala is mentally impaired. If a Republican did what she did, that Republican would be impeached and removed from office, and rightfully so, for high crimes and misdemeanors.”
The remarks drew a rebuke from a group that advocates for people with disabilities.
“Joe Biden became mentally impaired. Kamala was born that way. She was born that way. And if you think about it, only a mentally disabled person could have allowed this to happen to our country,” he said, elaborating on a claim backed by no evidence. He called Harris “a very dumb person,” and repeatedly mispronounced her first name, an action some supporters see as demeaning and racist.
Maria Town, CEO and president of the American Association of People with Disabilities, said in a statement to The Washington Post that Trump’s comments “say far more about him and his inaccurate, hateful biases against disabled people than it does about Vice President Harris, or any person with a disability.”
“Trump holds the ableist, false belief that if a person has a disability, they are less human and less worthy of dignity,” she added. “These perceptions are incorrect, and are harmful to people with disabilities.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has reached into his bag of personal insults, but it’s a new low even for him. His attempt to smear the vice president with this baseless slur highlights a candidate who’s struggling to hold onto relevance in a contentious campaign.
Many Republicans have grown nervous this time about the chaos that has defined his political career since his first run in 2016, when he waged a frenetic, unpredictable campaign that culminated in his surprise victory.
Among the particularly extreme posts Trump shared on his social media platform:
“How to actually fix the system,” said one with photoshopped images of Hilary Clinton, President Joe Biden, Hunter Biden, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former public health official Anthony Fauci, Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Harris all sitting in orange jumpsuits behind prison bars.
“Indict the unselect J6 committee sedition,” another reads, followed by “retruth if you want to lock them up.”
Another featured a picture of Trump sitting next to Obama with the words “All roads lead to Obama. Retruth if you want public military tribunals.”
And one includes a screenshot apparently from X of a reply to a photo of Harris and Clinton that oral sex “impacted both their careers differently.”
Among the numerous Republicans who have urged Trump to ditch the demeaning personal attacks and focus on policy, are former Governor Larry Hogan, Senator Lindsey Graham, and Representative Tom Emmer.
Hogan labeled the rhetoric “insulting,” while Emmer and Graham joined a chorus of Republicans trying to distance themselves from Trump’s crude jabs.
The speech marked the latest escalation in personal attacks by Trump against Harris. The Republican has baselessly questioned her racial identity and amplified a vulgar joke about her performing a sex act.
Trump’s tactics are transparent: facing a difficult path to victory, and with his poll numbers teetering, he’s resorted to his oldest trick—stoking division and degrading his opponents. His comments toward Harris are just one example in a long line of insults aimed at stirring up his base.
But in this case, it’s backfiring. Disability advocacy groups are speaking out against his callous remarks, and Americans are growing tired of his recycled antics.
Meanwhile, Harris isn’t backing down. In a brilliant tactical maneuver, her campaign aired an ad during the Alabama vs. Georgia football game—a prime-time event attended by Trump himself.
The ad challenged Trump’s cowardice, calling him out for refusing a second debate. “If you’ve got something to say, say it to my face,” Harris quipped in the ad, perfectly capturing the growing divide between the two candidates.
Trump’s refusal to engage directly with Harris only solidifies the notion that he’s afraid to face her head-on.
After suffering a resounding defeat in their first debate, Trump has retreated into the safety of his rallies, where he’s shielded from real scrutiny. This is his third time as the Republican nominee, and by now, Americans know exactly who he is—a twice-impeached, criminally indicted former president who clings to his base by any means necessary.
In the aftermath of his humiliating loss in 2020, Trump has become an even more divisive figure, stoking baseless claims about election fraud and riling up his supporters with inflammatory rhetoric.
His 2024 campaign is a continuation of that same strategy, only now with the added baggage of multiple criminal indictments, including efforts to overturn the last election and mishandling classified documents.
Trump has made a distinctive shift in tone on his Truth Social profile, lashing out in increasingly vulgar, misogynistic and vindictive posts.
He has reposted messages demanding for his political opponents to be jailed, calling for a return of “public military tribunals” for people like former President Barack Obama, as well as making a graphic sexual joke about Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrat Hillary Clinton, his opponent in 2016.
The repost of the sexual joke now appears to have been removed from Trump’s profile.
On other platforms used by a much wider swath of American voters like X and TikTok, Trump has maintained a less obnoxious tone, but Truth Social has become a place were for Trump allies and acolytes are free to lean into unfounded claims of election fraud and a search for revenge, with the distinct possibility those messages could be repeated by Trump himself.
Trump’s unhinged attacks on Harris are reflective of a man cornered by his own legal troubles, political missteps, and declining favorability. His re-entry into the presidential race wasn’t just controversial; it was a clear sign of desperation from a man who refuses to let go of power.
His net favorability remains in the negative, and despite his obsessive cult-like base, Americans overall are more unfavorably inclined toward him than ever before.
In contrast, Harris’s campaign is gaining momentum, focusing on policy rather than personal attacks. Trump, on the other hand, is stuck in a time loop, recycling the same divisive tactics that brought him to power in 2016.
Whether it’s bragging about appointing the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade or promising to reduce inflation (which ballooned as a result of Trump’s failed pandemic response), the Republican’s playbook is tired.
Americans are waking up to the fact that his promises were never fulfilled.
The economy, long Trump’s ace in the hole, no longer works in his favor. His mismanagement during the COVID-19 pandemic sent inflation soaring, and his tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations have left the average American struggling.
Now, he’s scrambling to rewrite history, hoping voters forget the $8 trillion he added to the national debt and the policies that pushed inequality to new extremes.
In 2024, Trump may be the oldest candidate ever elected if he wins. At 78, concerns about his mental fitness—just as much as Biden’s—have come into focus. The man who once mocked his opponents for their age and capabilities now faces the same questions. Yet, instead of rising above, Trump continues to hurl insults that demean not just his opponents, but millions of Americans with disabilities, while his legal and moral failings grow ever more glaring.
As Trump’s attacks on Harris become more degrading and desperate, voters are left with a clear choice. Will they endorse the politics of hate and division, or will they side with a future that prioritizes policy, integrity, and progress? Trump’s campaign may be dark, but there’s a brighter path ahead—one that leaves his tired rhetoric behind.