President Donald Trump's use of a slur for intellectually disabled people to describe one of his political opponents may be costing him some MAGA support, according to one Republican strategist.
Mediaite reported Friday that during a segment on CNN, Joseph Moreno — a military veteran and former federal prosecutor — lamented Trump called Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) "seriously retarded" on Thanksgiving Day. Trump insulted the Minnesota governor in the middle of a rant about Somali refugees in the Gopher State, as part of his comments in the wake of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom being fatally shot in Washington D.C. this week.
When host Boris Sanchez quipped: "What happened to 'Happy Thanksgiving,'" Moreno didn't hold back.
"Boris, you’re putting your finger, honestly, on what’s so difficult to be a conservative-leaning citizen, who, my whole life has cherished vigorous, but respectful debate," Moreno said. "And so when you see something like this, which is absolutely indefensible, and you’re sitting at the Thanksgiving table, and your family and friends say, 'How can you possibly support an administration that comes out with messages like this?' It’s not easy."
"And you have to take the big picture view. Do you think that we’re better off as a country now than we would be under a Biden or Harris administration? And is it worth putting up with a president that puts out messaging like this?" He continued. "It’s a tough one, and I’m not gonna pretend I know the answer to that."
Moreno wasn't the only conservative who was out off by Trump's comment. Earlier on Friday, Indiana state senator Michael Bohacek announced that he would not be supporting the president's push for mid-decade redrawing of U.S. House district boundaries due to his "insulting and derogatory" remarks. Bohacek noted that he was particularly sensitive to the intellectually disabled community given that his daughter has Down Syndrome.
The Trump administration has announced it is halting all asylum applications and immigration from underdeveloped countries in the wake of the Washington D.C. shooting. 29 year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal was arrested and charged with carrying out the attack. Trump attributed Lakanwal's alleged murder of Beckstrom to former President Joe Biden's immigration and refugee policies, though the Trump administration's Department of Homeland Security granted his asylum application earlier this year.
Click here to read Mediaite's full article.