President Donald Trump posted a series of anti-immigration messages on social media on Thanksgiving, and one of them contained a slur.

"A very Happy Thanksgiving salutation to all of our Great American Citizens and Patriots who have been so nice in allowing our Country to be divided, disrupted, carved up, murdered, beaten, mugged, and laughed at, along with certain other foolish countries throughout the World, for being 'Politically Correct,' and just plain STUPID, when it comes to Immigration," one of Trump's Nov. 27 Truth Social posts read.

It later mentioned Minnesota and called the governor the "r-word." The term was once used medically to describe people with mental disabilities, but over time, it was used as a bullying phrase. In recent decades, advocates have campaigned to end the use of the word, and it was becoming seemingly unacceptable to use.

But over the last year or so, it's made a resurgence, appearing unapologetically in places like Joe Rogan's podcast, Elon Musk's social media posts, and now, the president's statements.

"The post suggests the president used the R-word to mock Gov. Walz. If that’s true, this word has a long, painful and humiliating history, and it reinforces unfair and wrong stereotypes that people with intellectual disabilities are incompetent or worse," Dr. Timothy Shriver, Special Olympics Chairman, said in a statement to USA TODAY. "Words matter. It’s never OK to use the r-word."

Read Donald Trump's Thanksgiving message, posted to Truth Social

Trump used a slur about people with cognitive disabilities. What did it say?

Trump used the r-word, considered a slur, to describe Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat who ran against Vice President JD Vance in the 2024 election. While it was introduced as a medical term in 1961, it evolved over the following decades to be an insult used to demean people with and without disabilities.

"Using the R-word is the same as using any slur against a minority group," the Special Olympics website reads. "Eliminating this word is a step toward respect for all."

In 2010, former President Barack Obama signed "Rosa's Law," which replaced "mental retardation" references to "intellectual disability" within existing federal laws.

“What you call people is how you treat them. If we change the words, maybe it will be the start of a new attitude towards people with disabilities," Obama quoted the brother of Rosa, whom the bill was named after, as saying while speaking about Rosa's Law at a bill signing.

Walz's office did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment, but he shared a screenshot of Trump's post on X with the caption "release the MRI results."

Trump had an MRI during his Oct. 10 visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, but described it as "perfect."

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(This story was updated to include new information.)

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X (Twitter), Bluesky and TikTok.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump used slur in Thanksgiving post. What did it say?

Reporting by Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect