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Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump escalated his personal attacks on his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, on Sunday by repeating an insult that she was “mentally impaired” while also saying she should be “impeached and prosecuted.”
Trump’s rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, took on similar themes as an event one day earlier that he himself described as a “dark speech.” He told a cheering crowd Sunday that Harris was responsible for an “invasion” at the U.S.-Mexico border and “she should be impeached and prosecuted for her actions.”
“Crooked Joe Biden became mentally impaired,” he added. “Sad. But lying Kamala Harris, honestly, I believe she was born that way. There’s something wrong with Kamala. And I just don’t know what it is, but there is definitely something missing. And you know what, everybody knows it.”
With just over a month until the election, Trump is intensifying his use of personal and offensive attacks, even as some Republicans say he’d be better off sticking to the issues.
His suggestions that political enemies be prosecuted are particularly notable for their departure from norms in the U.S. in which the justice system is supposed to be protected from political influence. In recent weeks, Trump has threatened prosecutions of Google for allegedly giving priority to “good stories” about Harris and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Trump has long threatened legal action against his rivals, including President Joe Biden and his 2016 rival, Hillary Clinton. This month he vowed to jail those “involved in unscrupulous behavior” this election, including election workers, lawyers, political operatives, donors, and voters, yet again attempting to sow doubt about the integrity of the election.
But he also has many legal problems of his own. He was convicted in May of falsifying business records in a hush money case in New York, with a sentencing scheduled for Nov. 26. Two other cases are pending — a federal case for his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, and a state case in Georgia for his efforts to overturn his 2020 loss there to Biden. Prosecutors are appealing a federal judge’s dismissal of a case involving his handling of classified documents.
