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

Kid Rock
Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

Kid Rock Dragged After Donning A Truly Over-The-Top Outfit For His White House Visit

Singer Kid Rock was slammed for wearing a loud patriotic costume inside the Oval Office as Republican President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday against ticket scalping.

The rocker's outfit consisted of a red, white, and blue jacket emblazoned with two eagles facing each other above the American flag with the number 250, a nod to America's upcoming 250th anniversary, and white stars on his sleeves.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Bill Cassidy
CNBC

MAGA Senator Just Said The Quiet Part Out Loud With Epic Freudian Slip About Medicare

Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy was widely mocked following his inconvenient slip of the tongue during a CNBC interview as he mused about finding ways to "cut" Medicare before quickly correcting himself.

The exchange occurred after host Rebecca Quick pressed Louisiana Republican and former physician Bill Cassidy on how his party intended to fund the “trillion-dollar tax cuts” sought by President Donald Trump.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Tim Sheehy
CNN

GOP Senator Gets Blunt Reality Check After Comparing Trump Tariff 'Pain' To Home Renovation

Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy was criticized after he tried to compare the "short-term pain" of President Donald Trump's tariffs to home renovation, a claim so ridiculous that CNN's Kaitlan Collins quickly pushed back on the analogy.

Trump has repeatedly referred to April 2 as “Liberation Day,” pledging to impose tariffs—taxes on imports—to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign goods. He has framed these tariffs as “reciprocal,” aiming to match the duties other nations place on American exports.

Keep ReadingShow less
Susan Crawford; Elon Musk
Scott Olson/Getty Images (left and right)

Liberal Wisconsin Judge Calls Out Elon Musk In Victory Speech—And It's Everything

Liberal judge Susan Crawford called out billionaire Elon Musk in her victory speech after winning a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, basking in successfully beating her Republican opponent Brad Schimel and ensuring that the nonpartisan court’s narrow 4-3 liberal majority remains intact despite Musk's efforts to sway the race.

Musk fueled the high-stakes race, having poured more than $20 million into supporting Schimel, according to state campaign records. That includes $3 million to the state Republican Party—$2 million of which was donated just last week. Due to state election laws, large contributions must be funneled through political parties before reaching candidates.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Describe The Worst 'Bonus' They've Ever Gotten At Work

Most of us have worked at one problematic workplace, with reasons ranging from toxic coworkers to terrible bosses to unlivable pay. Sometimes, it feels like a joke that the employees are even being paid at all!

But the biggest joke of all might be the end-of-year bonus, or lack thereof. They're at times so laughable, they take the cake for horrible work conditions, or are quite literally, a slice of cake.

Keep ReadingShow less