BarryLaverty Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Not shocking, of course, but again revelatory of the coarse meanness at his core. (NY Times) Trump’s Biden Mockery Upsets People Who Stutter: ‘We’ve Heard This Before’ The former president mimicked his rival while at a rally over the weekend. For those who stutter, his remark “hits that familiar humiliation feeling.” By Maggie Astor March 11, 2025 Róisín McManus has stuttered her whole life. When she saw the video start to circulate of former President Donald J. Trump at a rally on Saturday imitating President Biden stuttering, she had two competing reactions. The first was: Of course. Mr. Trump had made fun of Mr. Biden’s stutter before, and a part of Ms. McManus figured he would do it again. But as she watched and rewatched the clip, the other reaction was a painful one. “I think it gets to a very visceral feeling for all people who stutter,” said Ms. McManus, 35, a palliative care nurse practitioner in Providence, R.I., who said she was an unaffiliated former Democrat. “Most of us have been mocked in some way in our childhood. We’ve heard this before. And so watching a video, it hits that familiar humiliation feeling.” John Moore, 53, a marketing consultant who leads a National Stuttering Association group for people who stutter in Greenville, S.C., said the clip had brought back memories of bullies who made fun of him. Heather Grossman, a speech pathologist who works with people who stutter, burst into tears thinking of her patients while she watched it. The moment happened at Mr. Trump’s rally in Rome, Ga., when he was criticizing Mr. Biden’s State of the Union address. “Didn’t it bring us together?” Mr. Trump said. Then he turned to mocking Mr. Biden, mumbling unintelligibly and saying, “Bring the country t-t-t-t-together.” Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Mr. Trump, said on Monday that “President Trump was clearly talking about Crooked Joe Biden’s declining mental state, which the world can see, and that he is unfit to be president any longer.” Stuttering is unrelated to intelligence or comprehension: “I know exactly what it is I want to say, but it sometimes doesn’t come out as smooth,” said Mr. Moore, who described himself as an unaffiliated voter who leans libertarian. It wasn’t the first time Mr. Trump has demeaned people with disabilities. During his presidential campaign in 2015, he mimicked a New York Times reporter, Serge Kovaleski, by jerking his arms around in an imitation of arthrogryposis, a condition that limits joint functioning. Facing backlash, he said he didn’t know who Mr. Kovaleski was or that he had a disability. A Biden spokesman, T.J. Ducklo, brushed off the mockery, saying it “just reveals how weak and insecure” Mr. Trump is. Many adults who stutter, having endured years of cruel comments, have similarly thick skin, a resilience that Ms. McManus said was important to highlight. But she and others who spoke to The New York Times on Monday said it still hurt to see those comments coming from someone as prominent and powerful as Mr. Trump — and especially to hear his audience laugh in response. Caryn Herring, who is the executive director of Friends: The National Association of Young People Who Stutter and who stutters herself, said a big part of learning to live with a stutter was being able to “convince yourself that stuttering means more to you than to anyone else, and that it’s not going to be a big deal — people aren’t going to laugh, you’re still qualified for the job.” Mockery from a former president will be interpreted as “evidence that this is a big deal and that this is something to be ashamed of and it means that you’re not qualified,” Ms. Herring said. “All those thoughts we know aren’t true, but when they’re said by a bully in such a way and then agreed upon by such a large audience, it can make someone feel really small and put them back so many steps in their journey to acceptance.” Dr. Grossman, the speech pathologist, is also the executive director of the American Institute for Stuttering. She said the goal of therapy was not to eliminate a stutter but to enable patients to communicate effectively, and to accept and move through stuttering when it happens. Mockery like Mr. Trump’s, she said, could undermine that by reinforcing a sense that “I can’t stutter openly or the world is going to reject me.” Advocates have long worried about rhetoric that stigmatizes disabilities and falsely implies that particular disabilities are incompatible with demanding jobs. Maria Town, the president and chief executive of the American Association of People with Disabilities, sent a letter to both of the national parties this year, asking them to “condemn such language in campaigns and to call on the candidates of your party to do better.” Rebecca Cokley, a program officer for the U.S. disability rights portfolio at the Ford Foundation, said she had seen people in both parties “weaponize” disability or the appearance of one. During the last presidential campaign, for example, some commentators mocked Mr. Trump for walking slowly down a ramp and using both hands to drink a glass of water. “It might be something said in a moment, but the long-term impact on our community is real,” Ms. Cokley said. “By mocking people’s disabilities, we create a society in which it’s not safe for people with disabilities to self-identify.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBizzle Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Yes, it's the stutter and not the dementia... Snowflakes... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngcoach123 Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryLaverty Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 2 hours ago, JBizzle said: Yes, it's the stutter and not the dementia... Snowflakes... Imagine an #### like you being accepting of another ####. Baffling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBizzle Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 2 hours ago, BarryLaverty said: Imagine an #### like you being accepting of another ####. Baffling! Foul mouth... You get really worked up. I'm accepting that people have problems and issues and will not hold that against them, but I will not accept that I have to accommodate lunacy or be afraid that everything I say is going to hurt someone's poor feelings. Toughen up, Buttercup. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion7000 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 On 3/12/2024 at 7:26 AM, JBizzle said: Yes, it's the stutter and not the dementia... Snowflakes... Man orange man bad. Trump could cure cancer and Barry would be like doctors lives matter or cancer research will go down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveTV1 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Biden deserves to be made fun of, he's the President of the United States. Cry me a river. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion7000 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 33 minutes ago, DaveTV1 said: Biden deserves to be made fun of, he's the President of the United States. Cry me a river. When he actually thanks dead people , sees imaginary things, says End quote in a speech he definitely asking for it. But hey no mean tweets smh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryLaverty Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 (edited) Yeah, not surprising the responses on this thread. Imagine mean spirited jackasses covering for the King of Jackasses. Edited March 16 by BarryLaverty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 26 minutes ago, BarryLaverty said: Yeah, not surprising the responses on this thread. Imagine mean spirited jackasses covering for the King of Jackasses. How often do you make fun of Republican politicians? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryLaverty Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 13 minutes ago, Monte1076 said: How often do you make fun of Republican politicians? Name one single time I have ever made fun of or condoned fully or by my silence the making fun of a Republican politician for their disability. Make that happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirtFalcon Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 Get over it ... Meathead .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion7000 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 7 hours ago, BarryLaverty said: Yeah, not surprising the responses on this thread. Imagine mean spirited jackasses covering for the King of Jackasses. You’re such a hypocrite is it unbelievable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngcoach123 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 8 hours ago, BarryLaverty said: Name one single time I have ever made fun of or condoned fully or by my silence the making fun of a Republican politician for their disability. Make that happen. It’s not a disability first off. He’s been in office for 40+ years and never had a stuttering problem. It’s dementia. You are carrying water for a demented child sniffer. Own it. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 8 hours ago, BarryLaverty said: Name one single time I have ever made fun of or condoned fully or by my silence the making fun of a Republican politician for their disability. Make that happen. Didn't you make fun of Trump because he "couldn't walk down a ramp"? And don't you quite frequently parrot your friends in the media about Trump's mental state? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion7000 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 6 hours ago, Monte1076 said: Didn't you make fun of Trump because he "couldn't walk down a ramp"? And don't you quite frequently parrot your friends in the media about Trump's mental state? Dude a hypocrite that knows nothing about facts and reasoning. His reality is in the cra crazy world. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlahBlah Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 58 minutes ago, Lion7000 said: Dude a hypocrite that knows nothing about facts and reasoning. His reality is in the cra crazy world. No some people are being ostracized for being crazy and/or jerks. That is the nice way of putting it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlahBlah Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 15 hours ago, KirtFalcon said: Get over it ... Meathead .... I know ! Trump lost in 2020. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 36 minutes ago, BlahBlah said: No some people are being ostracized for being crazy and/or jerks. That is the nice way of putting it. When the liberals and Dems ostracize the left and the loons and the screeching blue/pink haired harpies, let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngcoach123 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 40 minutes ago, BlahBlah said: I know ! Trump got cheated in 2020. FIFY 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlahBlah Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 37 minutes ago, Monte1076 said: When the liberals and Dems ostracize the left and the loons and the screeching blue/pink haired harpies, let me know. Big majority do. You just listen to the loud few. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngcoach123 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 4 minutes ago, BlahBlah said: Big majority do. You just listen to the loud few. Show me this “big majority” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte1076 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 4 minutes ago, Youngcoach123 said: Show me this “big majority” Yeah, I would like to see this too. Seems to me that "big majority" kowtows to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngcoach123 Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 32 minutes ago, Monte1076 said: Yeah, I would like to see this too. Seems to me that "big majority" kowtows to them. They absolutely do. So much evidence to support it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlahBlah Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 42 minutes ago, Youngcoach123 said: Show me this “big majority” They are silent . That is why they call it the silent majority. The news media including the internet always broadcast the few loud nutcases because the crazies bring in the clicks or viewers. It happens on both sides on the political isles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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