AAPD Statement on Ableist Comments by Donald Trump about Vice President Harris

AAPD Statement on Ableist Comments by Donald Trump about Vice President Harris

by Jess Davidson | Sep 29, 2024 | Press Release

For Immediate Release: September 29, 2024 

Contact: Jess Davidson at jdavidson@aapd.com; 202-975-0960 

WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday afternoon, Saturday, September 28, 2024, former President Donald Trump made a statement about Vice President Harris that was both ableist and inaccurate. American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) President and CEO, Maria Town, gave the following statement in response to Trump’s comments. 

“Donald Trump’s ableist comments yesterday say far more about him and his inaccurate, hateful biases against disabled people than it does about Vice President Harris, or any person with a disability. Trump holds the ableist, false belief that if a person has a disability, they are less human and less worthy of dignity. These perceptions are incorrect, and are harmful to people with disabilities. AAPD continues to call for the leadership of both parties in the 2024 election to condemn the use of ableist language like Trump used at yesterday’s rally.

“The presence or absence of disability alone is wholly insufficient to determine a person’s fitness to hold elected office. I care far less about the diagnoses a candidate does or does not have than I do whether they understand complex policy issues. Can they lead a team to manage an extremely large and complex organization like the Executive Branch? Are they compassionate, someone who listens to the American peoples’ stories and looks for opportunities to make things better? Are they able to make the right choice even when it is hard or politically disadvantageous? 

“To be clear, the insult of Donald Trump’s comment is not the suggestion that Vice President Harris is disabled, but rather, the insinuation that having a disability is synonymous with poor performance as a prospective president. Presidential history indicates that we’ve had many presidents who had disabilities. Whether or not these presidents were effective leaders is up for individuals to decide, just like it is up for individual voters to decide who will become the next President of the United States in November. 

Abraham Lincoln had depression. George Washington, Dwight Eisenhower, and others were all known to have learning disabilities. James Madison had epilepsy. Franklin Roosevelt survived polio and used a wheelchair. John F. Kennedy had Addison’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and chronic pain. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton both had/have hearing impairments. And Joe Biden has a stutter. I hope all of those examples can disabuse our nation of the idea that the presence of a disability alone can or should be disqualifying for a president.

“There are more than 38 million eligible voters with disabilities in the United States, who possess a wide variety of beliefs. Despite the size and power of the disability vote, politicians and political parties frequently dismiss the disability community, deprioritize issues that are important to disabled people and our families, and use ableism to score cheap political points against their opposition. Disabled voters are involved in every election, and we will be a key voting constituency in the 2024 Presidential election. As Americans navigate the last few weeks before the ballot box, I hope all candidates will treat our community with dignity and respect, instead of using us as a punchline to score cheap political points. Disabled voters deserve better.” 

AAPD is a national nonpartisan, disability led, cross-disability civil rights organization that works to promote equal opportunity, economic power, independent living, and political participation for people with disabilities. AAPD was founded in 1995 by several disability rights leaders from both sides of the aisle, including the late Senator Bob Dole (R-KS) and former Representative Tony Coelho (D-CA), who worked together to ensure Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act.

AAPD looks forward to continuing to advance the political power of disabled people through increasing disability voter registration, supporting non-partisan candidate and issue forums, preparing voter education resources, and removing barriers to voting and other political processes. For more information, please check out our REV UP Voting campaign.