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SupportedPoliticsLast updated: July 10, 2026

Trump Is Insensitive

The claim that Donald Trump is insensitive is supported by a documented record of public statements and conduct - the 'shithole countries' remark, mocking disabled reporter Serge Kovaleski, the Puerto Rico paper-towel incident, attacks on the Gold Star Khan and Johnson families, and his 'not a war hero' statement about Senator John McCain.

Written by Iggy Pomp · Reviewed by Igor Pomper · Last updated July 10, 2026

What we know

Contemporaneous reporting, video evidence, congressional testimony, and statements from directly affected parties establish a consistent pattern of insensitivity toward vulnerable people, grieving families, the disabled, and disaster-struck communities. On January 11, 2018, in an Oval Office meeting on DACA, Trump asked, 'Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?' referring to Haiti, El Salvador and African nations - an account confirmed by Senator Dick Durbin under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The UN Human Rights Office called it 'shocking and shameful.'

In November 2015, at a South Carolina rally, Trump waved his arms with his hands bent at an abnormal angle in an apparent physical impression of New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has arthrogryposis. The BBC reported it; the NYT called the act 'outrageous.' On October 3, 2017, two weeks after Hurricane Maria left 90% of Puerto Rico's 3.5 million residents without power, Trump tossed paper-towel rolls into a crowd of disaster survivors, then bragged 'I was having fun, they were having fun.' San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz called it 'terrible and abominable.' Maria would later be linked to roughly 2,975 excess deaths.

Gold Star families were a recurring target. In August 2016, after Khizr Khan addressed the DNC about his son Captain Humayun Khan - killed in Iraq in 2004 with a Bronze Star and Purple Heart - Trump questioned why Ghazala Khan 'had nothing to say,' implying Muslim prohibitions. In October 2017 Myeshia Johnson, widow of Sgt. La David Johnson, told ABC that Trump 'couldn't remember my husband's name' on a condolence call. Trump publicly disputed her account on Twitter, fighting with a Gold Star widow. On July 18, 2015, he said of Senator John McCain, a POW for 5.5 years: 'He's not a war hero. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured.'

Beyond the individual incidents, disability rights organizations and grief-counseling researchers have noted that this pattern follows a recognizable structure: the targets are consistently people with less institutional power to respond, including a disabled reporter, hurricane survivors in a US territory with no voting representation in Congress, and grieving family members. Communications researchers who study political rhetoric describe this as notable because it departs from a norm, observed across both parties for decades, of treating disaster victims and Gold Star families as politically off-limits for criticism or mockery, a norm that held even during heated political disagreements before these incidents drew bipartisan public criticism.

Fact-checkers who have reviewed these incidents note that in several cases, including the Kovaleski episode and the McCain remark, Trump has denied the intent that observers ascribed to his words or actions, but contemporaneous video and audio recordings of the events themselves are not in dispute.

Common claims

  • Trump called Haiti, El Salvador and African nations 'shithole countries.'Supported - confirmed by Senator Durbin, Trump conceded 'tough language'
  • Trump mocked a reporter's disability on stage.Supported - 2015 South Carolina rally, video evidence
  • Trump threw paper towels at Hurricane Maria survivors.Supported - October 3, 2017, video evidence
  • Trump publicly fought with the widow of a fallen U.S. soldier.Supported - Myeshia Johnson, October 2017
  • Trump only made these remarks once, out of context.False - pattern documented across a decade

Evidence hierarchy

01Trump Derides Protections for Immigrants from 'Shithole' CountriesWashington Post: Trump derides protections for immigrants from 'shithole countries' in Oval Office meeting.02Donald Trump Under Fire for Mocking Disabled ReporterBBC: Donald Trump under fire for mocking disabled NYT reporter Serge Kovaleski.03Puerto Rico: Trump Paper Towel-Throwing 'Abominable'BBC: Trump's paper-towel-throwing in Puerto Rico called 'abominable' by San Juan mayor.04Khizr and Ghazala Khan - Reactions to Trump's AttacksWikipedia compilation citing Khizr and Ghazala Khan controversy and bipartisan condemnation.05Trump Attacks McCain: 'I Like People Who Weren't Captured'Politico: Trump attacks McCain - 'I like people who weren't captured.'

All sources

Related terms

Trump Is A BullyTrump Is Emotionally VolatileTrump Is Ruthless