Critics of President Donald Trump think he lacked quite a bit of self-awareness when he said at a press conference this week that former Vice President Kamala Harris “can’t speak” and “can’t do an interview.” One professor in public humanities thinks his latest dig was an example of the president’s “appalling” strategies.

During a news conference on Thursday, Trump was asked to weigh in on Harris’ announcement the day prior that she won’t be running for governor of California in 2026. She told “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert this week that she wasn’t ready just yet to go “back in the system,” which she said she thinks is broken.

When a reporter asked Trump to share his thoughts about Harris’ political future, he responded: “Well, she can’t speak.”

“She can’t talk. She can’t do an interview,” he said as Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick could be seen laughing behind him.

He then inexplicably said that “nobody knew who Kamala was” when the then-vice president announced her candidacy for president in 2024, after former President Joe Biden announced he was dropping his reelection bid against Trump.

“Nobody knew her last name — Harris,” he said, before later adding that he thought she was a “terrible candidate” and not a “skilled politician” and that she “wasn’t a skilled person.”

Ironically, while criticizing Harris’ interviewing and speaking skills, the president invoked Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White in a tangent comparing the 2024 presidential campaign to an imagined UFC fight.

People online mocked Trump for criticizing Harris’ interviewing skills, pointing out the fact that the president gets routinely slammed for rambling and for being “incoherent” in speeches and in interviews.

“Will he ever make sense? He just rambles on like he is trying to convince himself of something but he doesn’t know what,” one Instagram user wrote in the comment section of a post that featured a video clip of Trump’s dig at Harris.

“He thinks he’s a better orator than her?” another user wrote. ”[I’ve] seen preschoolers with a bigger vocabulary than him.”

“I can’t recall a single time he’s spoken with intelligence and honor,” wrote another.

Speaking about Trump’s attack on Harris, Deepak Sarma, inaugural distinguished scholar in the public humanities at Case Western Reserve University, said that Trump has a tendency to “embrace (and share) white supremacist nationalist perspectives that deny the intelligence of women and people of color, and especially women of color.”

“He has, for example, stated similar vituperative remarks about congresswoman Jasmine Crockett,” Sarma told HuffPost. “His remarks about intelligence are directed at African Americans with greater frequency than others.”

Indeed, Trump has long been criticized for attacking women, Black people and other people of color over their intelligence, often chiding them as having “low IQ.” While speaking to reporters last month, Trump invoked Crockett when he was asked a question about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He called both congresswomen “vey low IQ” individuals.

“The rhetoric is a strategy to rile up his MAGA base and to reinforce and justify confederate era slavery,” Sarma said about Trump questioning the intelligence of Black people.

“It is ironic that he states that she cannot speak, talk, or do an interview, that she was a terrible candidate, and not a skilled politician,” Sarma said about Trump. “These, of course, are usually appraisals of his own capacities, and certainly not hers.”

“This is classic gaslighting, and a quintessential strategy for Trump,” they continued. “That is, he flips the script, accusing the other person of the very behavior that he exhibits, making everyone, his minions and Harris’ supporters doubt their perceptions and experiences.”

“It is equally appalling that his comments are mere ramblings, with incomplete sentences and more gaslighting,” they added. “In so doing he proves to everyone watching/listening/cringing that it is he who cannot speak, talk or do an interview, and it is he who is an unqualified politician.”

But Sarma said that it’s “essential” for people living in the U.S. to continue to call this behavior out — especially those with “public positions and profiles to speak up.”

“If they do not, then the gaslighting may take hold,” they warned.

“I am saddened that privileged people I knew who claimed to stand for democracy and human rights and so on are quiet and in hiding,” Sarma later added. “As a queer person of color, I must use my voice as an academic and a public intellectual to call out the president and his minions for their false and misleading claims.”

“If I do not, who else will?” they added.

Right-wing pundit Megyn Kelly apparently thinks that former First Lady Michelle Obama speaking openly and honestly about her experiences as a mother and wife is an issue that needs attention.

On Friday, Kelly shared a parody video on X, formerly Twitter, which features her mockingly impersonating the “Becoming” author with a character she created called “Megyn O.” In the roughly five-minute clip, Kelly pretends to be the former first lady talking about her personal life on a podcast. (Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, launched a new podcast series, titled “IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson,” back in March.)

The former Fox News Host put her own spin on some of the conversations Obama has had on her “IMO” podcast, as well as various appearances she’s made on other platforms.

One part of the parody video featured a real clip of Obama’s appearance on “The Diary of a CEO” podcast last month, in which she talked about her fertility struggles, undergoing vitro fertilization and experiencing pregnancy loss, during the nearly 90-minute video interview. Obama said on the podcast at the time that she speaks openly about her own experiences because she doesn’t think there’s enough public conversations about women’s health.

She said that the lack of discussions surrounding pregnancy loss can cause women who experience it to feel isolated, or as if they are in some way at fault. “And that can become the first pressure point in a marriage,” she said.

Speaking further about fertility struggles, pregnancy and raising kids — and how all of those things can impact marriages and relationships — Obama said: “Babies… little people with their own sense of everything… they mess you up.”

“You love them dearly, but they’re a hassle,” she said with a laugh. “And they’re demanding, and they have their own whims, and now they’re in your world, in your partnership, they are factored into everything.”

Kelly took a swipe at this part of Obama’s appearance on “The Diary of a CEO.”

In her parody video, Kelly, while pretending to be Obama, said, “I don’t understand these women, who have these kids … do you know what having children does to your life? It ruins it. Your life is ruined. Say goodbye to your happiness, whatever may have existed.”

The former Fox News host has criticized Obama for being vulnerable and for sharing aspects about her personal life before.

Back in April, Kelly and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson slammed the former first lady for talking about the racism and bias that still plague the U.S. during her appearance on Jay Shetty’s podcast. And earlier that month, Kelly complained about Obama talking publicly about the ups and downs in her marriage to former President Barack Obama, saying, “Every word she says about Barack Obama is negative.”

But Kelly’s attacks targeting Obama’s vulnerability can cause harm to others listening at home, said Heather Crampton, a licensed professional counselor and clinical supervisor with Thriveworks.

Not only can mocking someone sharing their personal struggles — as Kelly did — “breed shame and discourage open and honest dialogue” for the intended target, but the right-wing pundit’s parody video can cause a “chilling effect” for viewers at home, Crampton told HuffPost.

“People who are already hesitant to talk about sensitive topics like fertility challenges, marital strain, or the stress of parenting might feel that if a prominent woman is ridiculed for her honesty, they too will be judged or laughed at for admitting similar struggles,” she said. “This dynamic reinforces stigma and the idea that you should keep difficulties private or pretend everything is fine, which can lead to feelings of isolation, guilt or shame.”

“In contrast, when vulnerability is met with respect, it empowers others to be open and seek support,” she continued. “While criticism of ideas is part of public discourse, mocking personal hardship often does more harm than good, both to the individual being targeted and to anyone watching who relates to those experiences.”

“When people in the public eye share what they’ve gone through with things such as IVF, miscarriages, marital strain or the exhaustion of raising children, subjects that are often very isolating, it sends a message that these aren’t a sign of failure, they are just part of being human,” Crampton said. “When a respected figure like Michelle Obama shares that she went through fertility issues, it helps others going through that feel less alone and empowered to seek help.”

She also emphasized that these conversations in the public help counter the “myth that only certain types of people face these problems.”

“Overall, sharing honestly helps create a culture where people feel safer seeking help, expressing their emotions, and supporting one another through the inevitable difficulties of relationships and family life,” she added.

And for anyone who is feeling overwhelmed by parenting responsibilities or going through a difficult period in their marriage or relationship, Crampton emphasized that it’s important to reach out to someone you trust.

“If that isn’t available to you in your personal life, consider professional support,” she said. “For immediate reprieve, take some small breaks when you can such as going for a walk or a few minutes of meditation, or journaling your feelings. Getting your thoughts out, even if on paper, can make a huge difference.”

Crampton said that a good starting point for getting help can be contacting your primary care provider, or your insurance company for referrals to mental health services.

“Many communities also have parenting helplines and relationship resources you can contact confidentially,” she added.