19 of the Most WTF Moments of Donald Trump's Campaign

By Eleanor Sheehan
Getty | Johnny Louis
Getty | Johnny Louis

From the instant Donald Trump launched his campaign in the Summer of 2015, he has filled our society with disturbing rhetoric. Among the people insulted by the GOP nominee? Women, Mexicans, Muslims, black people, veterans, disabled people, and even his own Republican party.

As the election wraps up, let's look back at Trump's worst moments. While this list could be arguably longer than Keith Olbermann's list of 176 reasons Trump shouldn't be president, here are some of the most shocking instances.

  1. Announcing his candidacy by describing Mexicans as rapists and criminals trying to enter our country illegally. His solution? "We're going to build a wall." That statement became his unofficial campaign slogan.
  2. Refusing to release his tax returns. Trump pushed back on calls to see his returns, which resulted in The New York Times obtaining a copy of his tax return from 1995. It revealed that he declared a $916 million loss, which could have allowed him to avoid paying years of federal income taxes.
  3. Pointing out a woman's period. In August 2015, Trump accused Megyn Kelly of being an unfairly harsh moderator during a GOP debate, saying there was "blood coming out of her wherever."
  4. Saying that women who receive abortions should be punished. Speaking to MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Trump said, "There has to be some sort of punishment," but he wasn't sure what the punishment would be.
  5. Belittling African-Americans. Trump once went as far as to say black people were all living in poverty during a campaign rally in Michigan.
  6. Mocking a disabled reporter during a campaign rally in South Carolina last Summer. Yes, it's as bad as it sounds.
  7. Insulting Heidi Cruz's appearance on Twitter during the primary. Trump retweeted a message comparing his wife Melania and Heidi's looks.
  8. Being insensitive in the face of national tragedy. When 50 people were tragically murdered at a night club in Florida in June, Trump posted a tweet accepting congratulations "for being right on radical Islamic terrorism."
  9. Starting a fight with a Gold Star family. After Khazir Khan, the father of a fallen Muslim American soldier, challenged Trump to read the Constitution at the DNC, the candidate lashed out at the Khans. Appearing on ABC News, Trump suggested Khan's wife's silence on stage was a sign her husband had not allowed her to speak.
  10. Insulting former Miss Universe Alicia Machado's weight. While he denied having made disparaging comments about Machado during the first presidential debate when Hillary Clinton brought it up, he later went on a Twitter rant calling Machado disgusting.
  11. Claiming that former prisoner of war and current Senator John McCain was not a hero because he was captured. Trump said he "liked people who weren't captured."
  12. Defending his vile leaked tape. No one will ever forget the now infamous tape from 2007 where Trump was caught describing sexually predatory behavior on a hot mic. After the tape was published by The Washington Post, several women came forward to allege that Trump had inappropriately touched them. When he was forced to address the tape during the second presidential debate, Trump excused the comments as "locker room talk" and refused to offer an apology.
  13. Associating President Obama with sexual assault. After women began accusing Trump of sexual misconduct, Trump asked at a rally why women had not claimed the same about President Obama. "Why doesn't some woman maybe come up and say what they say falsely about me, they could say about him?"
  14. Threatening to put Clinton in jail as president during the second debate. Trump said he would appoint a "special prosecutor" to investigate Clinton's email scandal.
  15. Calling Clinton a "nasty woman" during the final presidential debate. The insult became a rallying cry for strong women, generating a positive new meaning of the phrase on Twitter.
  16. Refusing to confirm he would accept the election's results, aka fully undermining democracy. Trump went on to clarify his debate comment, saying he would accept the election results — if he won.
  17. Suggesting that if Clinton won the presidency she might be assassinated by "second amendment folks." A month after that original comment, Trump again insinuated Clinton could be killed when pondering what would happen if her secret service were disarmed. "She doesn't want guns . . . let's see what happens to her. Take their guns away," Trump said at a rally.
  18. Delivering a roast of Clinton that managed to upset a room full of Catholics. "Here she is in public pretending not to hate Catholics," he said during the annual Al Smith dinner to a chorus of boos.
  19. Suggesting that veterans suffering from PTSD are not strong while addressing the Retired American Warriors PAC in Virginia. Trump implied they couldn't handle their suffering.

Any one of these incidents should disqualify Trump as a presidential candidate, but since they haven't, allow them to remind you how important your vote is on Nov. 8.