The Trump Administration is Waging War on People With Disabilities. Decent Americans Cannot Let Them Win.

Recently, Donald Trump ridiculed California Governor Gavin Newsom’s dyslexia, saying, “Honestly, I'm all for people with learning disabilities, but not for my president."Personally, I’d rather have a human being with dyslexia leading our nation than a felonious, traitorous rapist who has the compassion of a ham sandwich, but that’s just me.Trump’s comments, as disgusting and dangerous as they are, are hardly shocking. His body of work against those with physical, mental, and emotional challenges is well-documented and shameful:Trump’s initial 2016 presidential campaign included a vicious rally ridiculing of a disabled reporter, which in any other iteration of America would have immediately disqualified him. He has often publicly used the R-word in insulting political opponents, including then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024 and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.In March of 2025, Trump’s nephew Fred C. Trump, whose son William was born with a genetic abnormality that altered his physical and cognitive development, detailed the contempt his uncle has for mentally disabled human beings, quoting him as saying, “Those people… “the shape they’re in, all the expenses, maybe those kinds of people should just die.”It’s impossible to overstate how damaging Trump’s words are to disabled people throughout this nation, especially children, who have to hear the occupant of our highest office tell them they are less-than, that they are a burden, that they are insult-fodder, that they will forever be limited by their differences.For a nation that has seen tremendous progress in the perception of and conversation around Americans with disabilities, the President’s ignorant, Jurassic ramblings signal a sad regression, with millions of his sycophantic disciples celebrating the return of slurs, myths, and mockery that they are all too happy to traffic in.And somehow, as incomprehensibly destructive as Trump’s words are, they pale in comparison to his party’s legislative war on children and adults with disabilities:The Trump Administration’s incessant attacks on SNAP benefits are a fierce blow to disabled people, who are disproportionally impacted by the funding cuts and program cancellations.The elimination of DEIA programs throughout the country are profoundly harmful to the visibility, representation, and opportunity for those with physical, mental, and emotional challenges.The Administration is working to dismantle the Department of Education, including severe cuts to staffing and financial support for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.They have targeted (SSI) Supplemental Security Income, which helps provide financial support for parents of children with disabilities, placing greater burdens on already vulnerable families. They’ve cut funding to SOAR (Supplemental Security Income (SSI)/Social Security Disability Insurance, and (SSDI) Outreach, Access, and Recovery), an invaluable resource in housing those with severe mental illness and other serious medical conditions.Trump’s Department of Labor has canceled a proposal to phase out subminimum wages for workers with disabilities, financially penalizing them in the workplace.Over and over, in both the President’s reckless words and his regime’s punitive legislative assaults, children and adults with disabilities in America are facing an undeserved cruelty that they should not be left alone to endure. While the domestic terrorism of ICE, the growing carnage of the war in Iran, and the prolific predation of the Epstein files all relentlessly scream for our attention and rightly receive it, it can be easy to overlook tens of millions of people who are finding themselves assailed by those elected to protect and represent them. We cannot overlook them.Decent human beings here need to make sure we do not fail our families, friends, and neighbors with our silence or our inaction. We must confront those who would drag our nation back to a shameful place where those with disabilities are shut in and silenced, erased from the collective community, and denied the freedoms and liberties that presence here should provide without caveat or condition.People of faith, morality, and conscience need to step forcefully into the face of the bullies and the bigots, whether in our families, our schools, our communities, or in the White House, and let them know that we will not tolerate their cruelty.Donald Trump, his willing Cabinet of ghouls, his complicit party, and a pathetic number of their supporters will continue to demean and dehumanize disabled people, but they will not do it unopposed.They have declared war on Americans with disabilities, but they’re gonna have to fight all of us. And we will not let them win.In the comments, please share your experience as a disabled person or someone who loves them, or the work you’re doing to care for, advocate for, and stand alongside those with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities. Help me crowdsource hope and resources.The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnpavlovitz.substack.com/subscribe