Former President Donald Trump has reignited controversy with personal attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris, repeatedly questioning her mental fitness during recent campaign rallies. Speaking in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, Trump intensified his rhetoric, calling Harris "mentally impaired" and suggesting she is unfit for office. The comments, a continuation of similar remarks made the previous evening in Wisconsin, have drawn mixed reactions from his own party, with some urging him to focus on policy rather than personal insults.
"Joe Biden became mentally impaired. It's sad, but lying Kamala Harris, honestly, I believe she was born that way," Trump told the crowd in Pennsylvania, doubling down on his criticism. He linked Harris to illegal immigration issues under the Biden administration, stating, "If you think about it, only a mentally disabled person could've allowed this to happen to our country."
The escalating attacks come as Trump positions himself as the Republican front-runner in the 2024 presidential race. His rhetoric on Harris has been a focal point of his strategy, particularly concerning the border crisis. He labeled Harris the "border czar," blaming her for what he characterized as a failure to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, a topic central to his campaign. The vice president, for her part, has repeatedly pointed to Trump's role in blocking a bipartisan border security deal during his presidency, which Democrats argue could have prevented many of the issues currently being debated.
Not all Republicans, however, are on board with Trump's personal attacks. Some of his top allies in the party have urged him to stick to policy issues, where they believe he has a clear advantage over the Biden administration. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, suggested the former president's focus should be on his strong polling in areas like the economy, border security, and foreign policy. "People trust you on the economy, the border, inflation, and foreign policy by wide margins," Graham told CNN's State of the Union. "Focus on those."
Other Republicans expressed discomfort with Trump's language. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer urged Trump to focus on issues rather than Harris' personal attributes, calling the vice president "the wrong choice for America" without endorsing the former president's remarks. Meanwhile, former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, an outspoken Trump critic, rejected Trump's comments outright, calling them "insulting not only to the vice president but to people who actually do have mental disabilities."
Despite the criticism, Trump's attacks have resonated with his core supporters. At his rally, the crowd responded to his calls for Harris to be "prosecuted" for her role in border policy with chants of "lock her up," evoking a familiar refrain from Trump's 2016 campaign against Hillary Clinton. Trump argued that Harris should be impeached and prosecuted, blaming her for thousands of deaths linked to border-related crimes.
Trump's focus on immigration, and his attacks on Harris in particular, come as polls show that voters see him as better equipped to handle border security than the Biden administration. A recent NBC News poll found that 54% of registered voters believe Trump would better secure the border compared to just 33% for Harris. Trump has worked to capitalize on these numbers, tying Harris directly to the surge in illegal crossings and violent crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
On the campaign trail, Harris has defended her record on immigration, accusing Trump of using divisive rhetoric to distract from his failures in office. Last week, during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, she reiterated her commitment to securing the border through bipartisan legislation, saying, "Even though Donald Trump tried to sabotage the border security bill, it is my pledge to you that as president of the United States, I will bring it back up and proudly sign it into law."
As Trump's rhetoric grows more extreme, his team continues to frame Harris as a symbol of what they call the Biden administration's failure. In a statement to NBC News, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said Harris is "wholly unfit to serve as president," blaming her for the "dereliction of duty" at the border. Cheung pointed to recently released data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which shows that 13,000 migrants convicted of homicide are living in the U.S., although the data goes back decades and does not solely pertain to the Biden administration.
As Trump's comments about Harris' mental state continue to dominate headlines, some within the GOP are pushing back against the narrative that personal attacks will help Trump secure another term. Speaking to CBS' Face the Nation, Hogan criticized Trump's divisive language, noting that it alienates voters who could otherwise be persuaded by his policy positions. "I've said for years that Trump's divisive rhetoric is something we can do without," Hogan said.
