Some Republicans are distancing themselves from Trump's attack on Harris' mental fitness

ERIE, Pa. (AP) — Republicans sought Sunday to distance themselves from Donald Trump's recent insults toward Democratic nominee Kamala Harris during a sprawling weekend rally in Wisconsin in which he described her as “mentally disabled”.

Trump escalated his personal attacks on the vice president during a self-described “dark speech” on immigration following Harris' trip to the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Joe Biden has been mentally impaired,” Trump said. “Kamala was born this way. She was born that way. And if you think about it, only a mentally disabled person could have allowed something like this to happen to our country. Everyone would know that.”

Trump has already falsely claimed that Harris has “gone black.” and regularly insults them as “stupid”, “weak”, “stupid” and “lazy”. With just over a month until the presidential election, his allies urged him publicly and privately to talk about the economy, immigration and other issues instead.

“I just think the better way is to pursue the case that their policies are destroying the country,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-R-S.C., said on CNN's “State of the Union,” following Trump's comments were asked. “They’re crazy liberals.”

Asked whether he agreed with the comments, Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., backtracked during an interview on ABC's “This Week.”

“I think Kamala Harris is the wrong choice for America,” said Emmer, who is supporting Trump's vice presidential nominee JD Vance as he prepares for Tuesday's vice presidential debate. “I think Kamala Harris is actually as bad or worse than the administration we’ve seen over the last four years.”

When asked, Emmer said: “I think we should stick to the topics. The problem is that Donald Trump fixed it once. They broke it. He will fix it again. Those are the problems.”

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who ran for Senate as a moderate Republican, brought up Trump's false claims that Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, had previously downplayed her black heritage. Harris attended Howard University, a historically black college, and has consistently identified as both black and South Asian throughout her political career.

“I already confronted him when he had the only interview in which he questioned her racial identity, and now he's questioning her mental competency,” Hogan told CBS' “Face the Nation.” “And I think that's an insult not only to the vice president, but to people who are actually mentally disabled.”

If elected, Harris would be the first woman, Black woman and person of South Asian descent to become president. She has not commented on Trump's recent attacks, but when asked about other comments, said it was the ” Same old show. The same trite playbook we’ve been hearing for years with no plan for how he would address the needs of the American people.”

Trump held a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, and some of the supporters who showed up to his speech said he often made offensive remarks. Still, they support his proposals to restrict immigration and say he has a better handle on the economy.

“He says what's on his mind and sometimes he says it's inappropriate,” said Jeffrey Balogh, 56, who attended the rally with two friends. “But he did the job. He did very well.”

Tamara Molnar said she thinks Trump is very strong on immigration. Addressing his insults, Molnar said: “I think everyone has to exercise some decency when talking about other candidates, and I don't think either side is necessarily innocent in that. “There's a lot being thrown in both directions.”

Trump said last month he was “entitled” to personal attacks against Harris.

“As far as personal attacks go, I'm very angry with her for what she did to the country,” he said at a news conference at the time. “I'm very angry with her that she would use the justice system as a weapon against me and other people, very angry with her. I think I have a right to make personal attacks.”