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Mark Kirk Said He Can’t Vote For Donald Trump. So Why Is He Sounding Just Like Him?

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Sen. Mark Kirk said in a statement last June that he could not support his party’s nominee for President, Donald Trump:

“After much consideration, I have concluded that Donald Trump has not demonstrated the temperament necessary to assume the greatest office in the world.”

So if Sen. Kirk isn’t voting for Trump, why is he sounding just like him?

In a stunning moment during last night’s debate against Rep. Tammy Duckworth for the US Senate seat from Illinois, Kirk hurled a racist insult questioning her military service.

Duckworth: “My family has served this nation in uniform, going back to the Revolution. I’m a daughter of the American Revolution. I’ve bled for this nation. But I still want to be there in the Senate when the drums of war sound. Because people are quick to sound the drums of war, and I want to be there to say this is what it costs, this is what you’re asking us to do. … Families like mine are the ones that bleed first.”

Kirk: “I had forgotten that your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington.”

Duckworth did not reply. After the debate, she tweeted a photograph featuring her mother and late father:

Duckworth, a US citizen, was born in Thailand. She was awarded the Purple Heart after losing both of her legs, and severely damaging one of her arms, in the Iraq War. 

“She is a Daughter of the American Revolution through her father’s side of the family,” according to USA Today.

In a statement following the debate, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee slammed Kirk’s comments as “offensive, wrong, and racist,” according to the Washington Post:

“A struggling political campaign is no excuse for baseless and despicable attacks, and Senator Kirk owes Congresswoman Duckworth and her family an apology,” said the spokeswoman, Lara Sisselman.

Duckworth also received some support from the Democratic nominee for President, Hillary Clinton.

More from Slate:

This is not the first time Mark Kirk’s rhetorical judgment has come into question. See his “bro with no ho” comment about South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham for starters. Kirk has also said he will not vote for his party’s nominee for president because he’s “too bigoted and too racist.” Instead, Kirk said he’s voting for former CIA Director David Petraeus, who is not, in fact, running for president.