Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Elaine Chao Slams Media For Publicizing Trump's Racist Taunt: 'He's Trying To Get A Rise Out Of Us'

CNN screenshot of Elaine Chao during her interview
CNN

The former Transportation Secretary and wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell was interviewed on CNN by Kaitlan Collins.

During an interview with CNN host Kaitlan Collins, Elaine Chao—best known as former Republican President Donald Trump's Transportation Secretary and for being the wife of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell—criticized media outlets for publicizing Trump's latest racist taunt against her.

Chao said Trump's behavior is designed to "get a rise out of us," adding Trump—who has repeatedly referred to her using anti-Asian racist slurs—"says all sorts of outrageous things, and I don’t make a point of answering any one of them.”


You can hear what she said in the video below.

Chao said:

“I think it’s very helpful if the media does not repeat that racist tweet. I mean, if it were the N-word or any other word, the media would not repeat it. But the media continuously repeats his racist taunt.”
"He’s trying to get a rise out of us. He says all sorts of outrageous things, and I don’t make a point of answering any one of them.”

Chao's appearance on CNN came after Trump lashed out at McConnell over Congress' recent passage of a spending bill that will keep the federal government running until September 2023.

Both chambers of Congress approved the nearly $1.7 trillion bill, which averted a government shutdown before the holiday recess. The legislation was particularly controversial among conservatives because though it includes $858 billion for defense funding and $772 billion for non-defense domestic programs, it included $45 billion in aid for Ukraine.

The bill had bipartisan support and McConnell himself was among the 18 Senate Republicans who voted in favor of it. McConnell said in a statement to reporters last week that Republicans "would have handled the appropriations process differently" if they had control of the chamber but defended these votes "given the reality of where we stand today."

But an angry Trump accused McConnell of giving into the demands of "Marxist Democrats" and proceeded to denigrate Chao, who is Chinese, when he, writing on his troubled social media platform Truth Social, said that the bill is a "massive giveaway & capitulation to CHINA" as well as Chao.

Many concurred with Chao's assessment and offered further criticisms of Trump's behavior.


However, others pointed out that Trump's history of racism is not a secret—and that Chao worked for him anyway.


Trump has held a grudge against Chao for some time.

Chao served as Trump's Secretary of Transportation until she became one of the first members of his cabinet to resign following the January 6 insurrection, the day a mob of Trump's supporters attacked the nation's seat of government on the false premise the 2020 election had been stolen.

This is at least the second time in the last couple of months that Trump has attacked Chao, writing last month that McConnell "blew the Midterms, and everyone despises him and his otherwise lovely wife, Coco Chow!"

That remark came after the "red wave" Republican legislators and pollsters had anticipated failed to materialize and once Democrats officially secured control of the Senate after their candidates and Nevada and Arizona fended off Trump-backed candidates.

At the time, Trump called the lack of a "red wave" the "fault" of McConnell, whom he accused of "Spending money to defeat great Republican candidates" instead of supporting candidates like Arizona's Blake Masters, a conspiracy theorist backed by German-American billionaire Peter Thiel, who has made substantial donations to American right-wing figures and causes.

More from People/donald-trump

Ribvar Karimi and Morgan Gardner Karimi
Morgan Karimi/Facebook

Alabama Woman 'Blindsided' After ICE Detains Her Trump-Supporting Iranian Husband

Another day, another MAGA face eaten by a leopard.

The "it wasn't supposed to happen to me" movement claimed two more victims on Sunday, June 22, when Ribvar Karimi was abducted by the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS's) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in a sweep that included 11 Iranians.

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

RFK Jr. Admits That Banning Fluoridated Water Will Cause 'More Cavities'—But He's OK With That

Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was criticized after admitting in a Fox News interview with Harris Faulkner that his proposed fluoridated water ban would likely lead people to have more cavities—but defended the move nonetheless.

While fluoride is not federally mandated in drinking water, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had long recommended its inclusion. Fluoride helps prevent cavities by strengthening enamel, and numerous studies have shown that fluoridated water reduces tooth decay in both children and adults.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Jesse Watters discussing Zohran Mamdani
Fox News

Jesse Watters Dragged After Trying To Give Mamdani A Scary Nickname That's Actually Kind Of Epic

Fox News personality Jesse Watters was widely mocked after he tried to give New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani a scary nickname in the vein of Conan the Destroyer—only for it to backfire considerably.

Watters is the latest member of the GOP to lash out at Mamdani, a democratic socialist who handily defeated former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary last week.

Keep ReadingShow less
A man sitting on a couch
man sitting on sofa
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

People Sound Off On What Caused Them To Fire Their Therapist

We thankfully live in a world where there's no longer a stigma surrounding therapy.

Some people simply need professional help to deal with ongoing problems or even to get through the day.

Keep ReadingShow less
Andy Ogles; Zohran Mamdani
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images (left and right)

MAGA Rep Slammed After Calling For Mamdani To Be Stripped Of His Citizenship And Deported Over Rap Lyric

Tennessee Republican Andy Ogles was called out after he shared a letter he sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging her to denaturalize and deport New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani over a lyric in a rap song Mamdani released in 2017.

Mamdani ran a campaign centered around economic populism, arguing that the city, a global financial center, has grown unaffordable for everyday residents, citing soaring rents and grocery prices, and outlining policies aimed at reducing the cost of living.

Keep ReadingShow less