'Don't lecture us': Amy Siskind slams Donald Trump for 'hateful rhetoric'

In a scathing criticism of President Donald Trump on X, activist and author Amy Siskind asked Trump to "stop the gaslighting," addressing his "low IQ" jabs at several of his critics. Siskind, known for her 'The Weekly List' tracking changes in American democracy, highlighted what she described as a daily stream of "hateful rhetoric" from the President. 

"Don't lecture us on hate. Trump, on a daily basis, posts and spreads hateful rhetoric," Siskind wrote, as she listed several of the President's recent verbal attacks. Siskind's statement also pointed out the President's recent use of derogatory language toward Black Americans who disagree with him. 

She mentioned that Trump called three well-known Black individuals "low IQ," a phrase he has used repeatedly during the 2026 midterm campaign. "In recent days, calling three Black Americans who he doesn’t agree with "low IQ," insulting the Pope, castigating and insulting our allies around the world, insulting leaders of and all people in the opposing party, and so on," Siskind wrote.

This mention of the Pope comes after a rare diplomatic conflict between Washington and the Vatican. Earlier in the month, President Trump used Truth Social to reject Pope Leo XIV's calls for humanitarian restraint in current foreign conflicts. Trump said that the American-born Pope was "terrible on foreign policy" and "weak on crime." Several Trump critics have pointed out that this is a clear departure from usual diplomatic practices.

Siskind argued that this kind of language is not just a personal habit but shows deeper problems within the government. "Stop the gaslighting. The fish rots from the head!" she wrote, using a metaphor to say that the negativity in national politics starts at the top. This idea is similar to her work in 'The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump's First Year', where she said that accepting this language often comes before major changes in how the country is run.

Siskind's reference to "3 Black Americans" follows a string of insults the President lobbed at high-ranking officials in late April. On April 21, 2026, during an interview with CNBC's 'Squawk Box', President Trump targeted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, calling him a "totally Low IQ person" and a "Low IQ guy" while criticizing Jeffries' opposition to the Iran war. Similarly, on April 23, 2026, in a social media post directed at Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the President called her a "low IQ person" after the court issued a series of rulings challenging his executive authority on imposing tariffs.