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Online reactions ranged from shocked and horrified to expected.
Former President Donald Trump gave two unhinged speeches over the weekend. His words were marked by a combination of attacks on his political opponents, unfounded claims about the state of the country, and inflammatory rhetoric targeting marginalized communities. At a rally in Erie, Penn., on Sunday, the former president launched into a tirade against Vice President Kamala Harris, immigrants, and transgender people as he continues to ramp up his divisive message ahead of the November election.
Trump used his platform to target Harris, making disturbing and false comments about her mental capacity. At a rally in Wisconsin the day before, he suggested, “She was born that way… only a mentally disabled person could have allowed this to happen to our country.”
Trump added that “Joe Biden became mentally impaired. Kamala…was born that way.”
Trump continued to belittle Harris during the Erie rally, repeating that “Kamala is mentally impaired.” He claimed that Harris had allowed “647,572 migrant criminals” to enter the country, including more than 13,000 convicted murderers, whom he falsely alleged were released to “rape, pillage, thieve, plunder, and kill the people of the United States of America.”
The Washington Post’s Philip Bump pointed out that the data Trump cited had been grossly misrepresented. The figure of 13,099 stretches back over decades and includes individuals who entered the country during Trump’s presidency.
As Bump explained, the actual numbers are far less alarming than Trump suggested. “The government has a list of precisely 13,099 convicted murderers who it has allowed into the country, indexed and then allowed to walk free? To what end?” Bump wrote, adding that the claims were part of a long history of cherry-picking data to fit Trump’s narrative.
Trump’s comments have been condemned as sexist and ableist.
Republican figures were among those who condemned Trump’s remarks. South Carolina U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham told CNN, “I just think the better course to take is to prosecute the case that her policies are destroying the country,” while distancing himself from Trump’s insults. Larry Hogan, a former Maryland governor and longtime Trump critic running for a U.S. Senate seat, was more direct. “I think that’s insulting not only to the vice president but to people that actually do have mental disabilities,” Hogan told CBS News. He added that Trump’s rhetoric was “something we can do without.”
On Sunday, Trump also implied that extreme violence might be necessary to restore law and order in the United States. “If you had one really violent day... the word will get out, and it will end immediately,” Trump said. He claimed that the nation’s law enforcement system, which he described as “the greatest in the world,” is being instructed not to act against the supposed criminals Harris has “set loose.”
“They’re not going to change. They’re only going to get worse,” Trump declared.
Critics online were quick to compare Trump’s rhetoric to the dystopian film The Purge, where all crime is legalized for 12 hours. “In PA today, Donald Trump gave one of the most dangerous speeches of the 21st century by describing his strategy for reducing crime as Kristallnacht,” one person on X (formerly Twitter) wrote. Kristallnacht, or the “Night of Broken Glass,” refers to the Nazi pogrom in 1938, during which Jewish businesses, synagogues, and homes were attacked across Germany, resulting in deaths and arrests, marking a prelude to the Holocaust.
Trump’s suggestion that violence might be necessary has raised alarms among political observers who fear he is encouraging his supporters to take matters into their own hands.
As part of his ongoing attacks against transgender people, Trump fixated on the idea of transgender athletes participating in sports. In Erie, he accused Harris and the Democrats of promoting what he called “transgender insanity” in schools. “We’re not going to have men playing in women’s sports,” he said.
In Wisconsin, he promised, “We will...keep critical race theory and transgender insanity out of our schools, and we will keep men out of women’s sports.”
As the 2024 election draws nearer, Trump’s rhetoric continues to grow more extreme, with a focus on attacking those he sees as threats to his vision of America. His words have left many concerned about real-world consequences, as his language may embolden supporters to act on fear and hate.
