Former President Donald Trump’s “mom issues” were on full display during Monday night’s interview with Elon Musk, according to a former FBI agent.
At one point during the rambling exchange, the 78-year-old Republican presidential candidate was discussing a Time Magazine cover story about his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, when he oddly compared the Democrat to his wife, Melania.
He accused Harris, 59, of “free riding” on the press as she continues to decline media interviews, noting in passing that Harris resembles his wife.
“But I saw a picture of her today in Time Magazine, she looks like the most beautiful actress that ever lived,” Trump said.
“It was a drawing. And actually she looked very much like a great first lady: Melania.”
Former President Donald Trump bizarrely compared his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, to his wife during a rambling interview with Elon Musk on Monday
Former FBI agent Asha Rangappa said the comment was evidence of Trump’s ‘mom issues’
He then mispronounced the vice president’s name, repeatedly calling her “Camilla.”
“She didn’t look like Camilla,” Trump said. “That’s right.
“But of course, she’s a beautiful woman. So let’s leave it at that.”
Americans across the country watched the exchange live, with many taking to social media to say they found Trump’s comments about the vice president repulsive.
Former FBI agent Asha Rangappa, however, did not appear surprised by the former president’s comments.
“I KNEW IT. His brain is short-circuited because she’s attractive AND formidable,” she said posted on X.
“Lol, he’s toast.”
The former president discussed a new Time Magazine cover story about Harris
He said the drawing on the cover ‘looked very much like a great first lady: Melania’
She said the former president “recognizes and is a little afraid of strong, intelligent women — and in a strange way craves their approval,” and that there are “some mother issues” at play.
Rangappa also claimed that Trump equates attractive women with “dumb or weak” so he can “sexualize, exploit and reject” them.
Trump has been accused in the past of having “mother issues.” Former President Barack Obama said at his second annual Obama Foundation summit in 2018 that progress in the U.S. is being held back because “we are still confused, blind, and surrounded by hate, anger, and racism.” [and] ‘Mommy problems.’
Many in attendance and in the media saw it as a dig at then-President Trump, as it happened just a few months after his death. Politico Magazine published an article titled ‘Donald Trump’s Mommy Issues.’
In the article, author Peter Lovenheim argues that the lack of a bond with his mother may have played a role in Trump’s personal and professional life.
Trump has been accused of so-called “mommy issues” in the past. He is pictured here (left) with his parents and sister, Maryanne
He notes that Trump’s mother, Mary Anne Trump, was diagnosed with a life-threatening illness when the former president was just a toddler.
Because his mother was disabled with the disease and his father, Frederick Trump, was never home while he focused on building his real estate empire, Lovenheim suspects Trump never formed a strong bond with a primary caregiver as a child.
He said such a problem can lead to two common psychological issues: Either a person develops “attachment anxiety, which causes them to crave intimacy as an adult but have difficulty seeking reassurance — or a person suffers from attachment avoidance, which causes them to generally distrust others and convince themselves that they don’t need close relationships.”
Lovenheim argued at the time that Trump showed signs of avoidant attachment, citing what he described as the former president’s sense of independence and his inability to acknowledge his doubts. He also bragged about sexual encounters and the fact that he had had multiple marriages and few close friends.
The author also cited Trump’s many flattering comments about his mother over the years, calling her “wonderful,” “wonderful,” “very warm” and “very loving,” but saying he couldn’t back up those sentiments with memories from his early childhood.