### McCarthy Dodges Questions on Trump’s Remarks About VP Harris

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy found himself in an uncomfortable position on Sunday while facing questions about controversial comments made by former president and GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump, regarding Vice President Kamala Harris. The incident took place during an interview with CNN Inside Politics host Manu Raju, who played clips from Trump's rally in Wisconsin the previous day. During the rally, Trump had disparagingly referred to Harris as "mentally disabled."

Trump stated, "Joe Biden became mentally impaired, Kamala was born that way, she was born that way", further adding, "only a mentally disabled person" could have pursued the policies of the Biden-Harris administration. When asked by Raju if he thought this was an effective line of attack, McCarthy hesitated initially and then acknowledged the accuracy of the clips before quickly shifting focus.

McCarthy refused to directly address Trump's comments, instead steering the conversation towards Republican talking points on illegal immigration. He cited Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data which allegedly shows that over 13,000 immigrants convicted of homicide are living outside agency detention facilities.

Pressed again about Trump's comments questioning Harris’s intelligence, McCarthy diverted once more, questioning the intelligence of anyone supporting the current administration's policies, but never directly addressing Trump's derogatory remarks. Raju persisted, but each time McCarthy reverted to discussing GOP immigration concerns.

In a particularly pointed exchange, when Raju stated, "You're okay with saying 'mentally disabled,' that's the bottom line," McCarthy responded with a "No," careful not to appear as endorsing Trump's offensive comments. However, he again reiterated his immigration-focused talking points.

Furthermore, when questioned about Trump and running mate JD Vance's false claims that Haitian migrants were eating people's pets in Ohio, McCarthy again dodged the question, repeating his previous talking points instead of directly addressing the falsehood.

The American Association of People with Disabilities condemned Trump's remarks, emphasizing that they reflect Trump's own "inaccurate, hateful biases against disabled people" rather than anything about Vice President Harris or disabled individuals.

Trump’s history of making disparaging remarks about disabled individuals is well-documented. He has previously suggested that people with serious disabilities would be better off dead, as recalled in a memoir by his nephew Fred Trump III, and once openly mocked a disabled reporter from the New York Times during a rally.