Former President Donald Trump delivered a series of personal rants about Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday in what he admitted was a “dark speech” at a rally in Wisconsin.
Rather than focus on policy, Trump used much of his speech in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, to attack Harris, at one point saying Harris was born “mentally disabled.” did.
“Joe Biden is mentally ill,” Trump said, adding, “Kamala was born that way.”
“And if you think about it, the only people who would allow something like this to happen to this country would be mentally ill people,” he continued.
The comment sparked a swift backlash from disability advocacy groups.
Maria Town, CEO of the American Federation of People with Disabilities, condemned the comments in a statement, calling them “more inaccurate and hateful about him and his people with disabilities than anything he has said about Vice President Harris or anyone else.” “It says much more about the prejudices that persist.” with a disability. ”
President Trump later admitted it was a “dark speech.”
“The people who sat in the front row say, ‘Oh my God.’ They were jumping up and down outside thinking, ‘We’re going to make America great again,'” he said.
“What I’m saying is this is a dark, dark speech,” he added.
Trump’s sharp remarks came as he seeks to shore up support in key battleground states ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The rally was held in Wisconsin, a state that is extremely important to both parties, having narrowly defeated Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020.
Immigration remains a hot issue for voters, and President Trump also used his rallies to target the topic, often using inflammatory language.
At one point, he called illegal immigrants “cold murderers who make our criminals look like babies.”
After the rally, the former president emphasized his point on Truth Social, writing, “I left Wisconsin where illegal immigrants are wreaking havoc. I will fix the situation ASAP!”
