House Speaker Mike Johnson has broken ranks with Donald Trump, criticising the former president's use of a derogatory slur against people with disabilities directed at Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
A Rare Point of Contention
During his weekly press conference on Tuesday 2 December 2025, Johnson was asked by The Independent about Trump's remarks. The controversy stemmed from a post on Trump's Truth Social platform during the Thanksgiving holiday, in which he labelled Governor Walz "seriously r*****ed" while criticising a welfare fraud scandal in Minnesota.
When questioned, Johnson offered a measured but clear rebuke. "Look, that's not the word I would choose," the Speaker stated. He suggested Trump's reaction was "a spontaneous one to the enormous amount of fraud that was announced there," yet stood firm on his personal disapproval of the language used.
Limited Republican Backlash and a Personal Stand
The incident has revealed a stark divide within the Republican Party. While most prominent figures have remained silent, Indiana Republican state legislator Mike Bohacek took a firm stand. Bohacek, who has a daughter with Down Syndrome, announced he would oppose efforts to redraw Indiana’s congressional map following Trump's use of the slur.
Despite his criticism of the specific word, Johnson defended the underlying sentiment of Trump's attack on Walz. "I think everybody understands how absurd and crazy that is, and how Congress has an immediate obligation to look into it," he told The Independent.
A Long History and a Resurgent Slur
Governor Walz himself condemned the language on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. "He's normalized this type of hateful behavior and this type of language," Walz said, accusing Trump of using such rhetoric to distract from issues of competency.
The word, once a clinical term, has been widely recognised as a harmful slur for decades. Bipartisan efforts have sought to eliminate its use:
- In 2003, President George W. Bush renamed the 'President's Committee on Mental Retardation' to the 'President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities'.
- In 2010, President Barack Obama signed Rosa’s Law, replacing the term with "intellectual disabilities" in federal law.
Despite this, the slur has seen a recent resurgence in some political circles. This is not the first time Trump has faced criticism for remarks targeting disabilities. He famously mocked Serge Kovaleski, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter with a disability, in 2015 and has previously called autism a "horror show." He has also promoted the debunked link between childhood vaccines and autism.
Johnson, who has consistently defended the bulk of Trump's rhetoric and social media activity, found this instance to be a step too far, marking a rare public divergence between the Speaker and the former president.
