Former President Donald Trump said world leaders would treat Vice President Kamala Harris “like a play toy” if she’s elected president.
In an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, some of which aired Tuesday, Trump — who has a long history of making derogatory comments about female opponents — said: “She’ll be so easy for them. She’ll be like a play toy.”
He added, “They look at her and they say we can’t believe we got so lucky. They’re gonna walk all over her.”
Looking directly into the camera, Trump said, “I don’t want to say as to why, but a lot of people understand it.”
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The former president has repeatedly attacked women who have criticized him by mocking their appearances and insulting their character. During the 2016 Republican presidential cycle, he called Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, a "nasty woman" — an insult that her supporters turned into a feminist rallying cry — and "unhinged." Trump also poked fun at his Republican primary rival Carly Fiorina’s face on television and shared an unflattering photo of Sen. Ted Cruz’s wife, Heidi Cruz, on Twitter.
Trump has lobbed personal attacks and unflattering nicknames on his male opponents, but the attacks on his female rivals are often gender-based. He has referred to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as "crazy," adult film actress Stormy Daniels as “horse face," and his 2024 primary rival Nikki Haley as “birdbrain.”
Trump and his allies have pummeled Harris with attacks on her race and gender since she jumped into the presidential race, calling her “crazy” and a “DEI vice president.” They have also made fun of Harris' laugh and called her "dumb as a rock." On Wednesday alone, Trump referred to the vice president as "Crazy Kamala" at least five times on his Truth Social website.
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The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said Trump was not referring to Harris’ race or gender in the Ingraham interview and slammed Harris on her record on immigration.
“She is weak, dishonest and dangerously liberal, and that’s why the American people will reject her on November 5th,” Leavitt said in a statement.
Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance — who is facing backlash himself over comments he made in 2021 about “childless cat ladies” leading the country — repeatedly used the word "weak" during a speech in Nevada on Tuesday when describing Harris’ leadership.
“Of all of Kamala Harris’ faults, the worst of all is that she left America weak and vulnerable," Vance said. "The entire world now knows that she helped cover up Joe Biden’s declining mental capacity for years.”
But he told NBC News that there's no "particular effort to tag her as weak." Vance added, "If there’s a particular label we want the American people to be aware of, it’s that she’s an ultra-liberal.”
NBC News' Henry J. Gomez and Jillian Frankel contributed.
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